Both Al Feroz Youngsters and Warriors Club warmed for the title clash with one-sided semi-finals victories at the West Bay Grounds on Friday, riding centuries from Tanveer and Adnan, respectively.
Qatar Airways, one of the youngest airlines in the world with a strong presence in all six continents, is the sponsor of the tournament and has been supporting the Qatar Cricket Association in the development of the sport in Qatar for a long time.
Tanveer excelled in his Al Feroz Youngsters’ mammoth 101-run victory against HBK. He blitzed six sixes and as many boundaries in his unbeaten 129 off 149 balls to lift his team to a formidable 330 for five in 50 overs. Noman and Faisal also struck half-centuries to bolster their team.
Tanveer was involved in two big alliances for his team. Despite losing Qalandar off the very first ball, he and opener Faisal (67 with three sixes and seven fours) collected 117 runs for the second wicket. He and Noman added 192 runs for the fourth wicket before the latter missed out on his ton by eight runs. He made 92 off 75 balls with two sixes and eight boundaries. Tayyab picked two wickets for 43 runs.
During the chase, Mansoor (four for 38) and Inam grabbed seven scalps between them and shot out HBK for 229. Mansoor’s 72 came off 62 deliveries with two sixes and nine boundaries, while Tayyab was the other fighter as he hit half a dozen fours in his 50 in 82 balls.
Warriors Club’s Adnan, during a dominant nine-wicket after a brisk 150-run chase, launched a stinging attack on the rival bowlers and raced to 107 in just 76 balls. His knock had two sixes and 16 fours. Imraz chipped in 35 not out with a six and three fours in his 53-ball knock.
Earlier, Nayeem triggered the Commercial Bank Qatar’s collapse at 33 when he dismissed Zaheer (13). At the same score, Waleed was run out for a duck. After that, the bank men suffered blows at regular intervals and folded up for 149 in 44.2 overs with Nayeem and Kushal sharing four wickets. Murad, Praveeth and Omar got one each.
Faisal hit four boundaries in 39 to be CBQ’s top scorer. Taimoor made 19, while Ali and Dharmang added 16 and 15, respectively.
Brief scores
Al Feroz Youngsters: 330 for five in 50 overs (Tanveer 129 not out, Noman 92, Faisal 67, Tayyab 2/43) bt HBK: 229 all out in 46.4 overs (Mansoor 72, Tayyab 50, Mujeeb 4/38, Inam 3/46)
Man the match: Tanveer of Al Feroz Youngsters
Commercial Bank Qatar: 149 all out in 44.2 overs (Faisal 39, Taimoor 19, Ali 16, Dharmang 15, Nayeem 2/11, Kushal 2/38) lost to Warriors Club: 153 for one in 21.2 overs (Adnan 107, Imraz 35, Amir 1/40)
Man of the match: Adnan of Warriors Club