The ambitious Qatar T10 Cricket League got under way at the Asian Town Cricket Stadium with Flying Oryx, powered by skipper Hussain Talal’s unbeaten 59, thumping Pearl Gladiators by nine wickets on Saturday.
Qatar Cricket Association President Yousef Jeham al-Kuwari presided over the opening ceremony and unveiled the trophy. Also present on the occasion were International Pro Event CEO Sajjad Chaudhry and other QCA officials.
Cricket is a popular sport in Qatar and the QCA is using the league as a springboard to build a strong base here so that they can excel in all forms of the game in future.
During the ceremony, al-Kuwari said, “We are very proud to launch the T10 league, which is the second biggest in the world with players from nearly all major cricket playing nations present here.
“This is the first time for us to host so many international players. We are committed to improving the league and making it a huge success in future,” he added.
In the only match on the opening day, Flying Oryx put Pearl Gladiators in to bat first, and the latter were restricted to 83 for five.
Faisal Javed, who opens for the Qatar national team as well, was the top-scorer for his team. His 27 off 26 balls included a six and a four before he was run out by Nouman Sarwar. Adnan Ilyas (18 in 8 balls with two sixes and a four) and Saqlain Arshad (15 in 10 balls with a six and a four) were other main contributors.
Naved Malik grabbed two wickets for 26 and Harmandeep Singh got one for 11.
Captain Hussain Talat launched a blistering counter-attack on the rival bowlers after an early loss of Valeed Veetil (4). He blasted three sixes and eight boundaries in his unbeaten 59, facing just 29 balls.
Assad Borham finished unbeaten with 20 in 15 balls, comprising a six and a four, before he shared an unbroken second-wicket stand of 80 runs with Talat to set up the win with 14 balls to go.
Local star Mohamed Tanvir clobbered four sixes and three boundaries in his unbeaten 49-run knock as Desert Riders handed a seven-wicket defeat to Swift Gallopers on the second day of the league yesterday.
Desert Riders, chasing a demanding 94-run target, reached home with seven balls to spare with Tanvir cracking 49 not out off just 21 balls. Adnan Mirza made 23 in 13 balls with five hits to the rope. Sufyan Mehmood, Ravinderpal Singh and Inam-ul-Haq all picked a scalp each.
Earlier, Swift Gallopers got to 93 for five after being asked to set the target. Pakistani batsman Kamran Akmal faced just 13 balls and hit 29, including two sixes and as many boundaries. Ravinderpal Singh added 21, which contained two sixes. Sohail Tanvir and Mohamed Hafeez shared four wickets.   
 
BRIEF SCORES
n Pearl Gladiators 83 for five (Faisal Javed 27 in 26 balls, Adnan Ilyas 18 in 8 balls; Naved Malik 2/26, Harmandeep Singh 1/11) lost to Flying Oryx 85 for one in 7.4 overs (Assad Borham 20 not out in 15 balls, Hussain Talal 59 not out in 29 balls) by nine wickets. Man of the match: Hussain Talat (Flying Oryx)
n Swift Gallopers 93 for five (Kamran Akmal 29 in 13 balls, Inam-ul-Haq 16 in 16 balls, Ravinderpal Singh 21 in 14 balls; Sohail Tanvir 2/16, Mohamed Hafeez 2/13) lost to Desert Riders 94 for three in 8.5 overs (Adnan Mirza 23 in 13 balls, Mohamed Tanvir 49 not out in 21 balls) by seven wickets. Man of the match: Mohamed Tanvir (Desert Riders)
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