Table-toppers, Fujairah and Emirates Blues took on each other in the tenth match of the Emirates T20 League yesterday. The game was billed as a high-scoring affair and it did not disappoint. Fujairah were able to stamp their authority and won it by six wickets.
After winning the toss, Emirates Blues chose to bat first and tried to put pressure on the Fujairah team. The openers Alishan Sharafu (18) and Aryan Lakra (0), however, couldn’t give a good start as the latter fell in the very first over to Kashif Daud. The Emirates Blues captain Sharafu then steadied the innings with Aryansh Sharma to take the score to 25 before the former departed.
Wickets fell in intervals but Fahad Nawaz (42) built a strong partnership with Dhruv Parashar (35) to take Emirates Blues to 138. Later, Mohammed Faraazuddin’s 15 off 12 and short little cameos from the next three batters meant Emirates Blues notched 159/8 at the end of the first innings. Kashif Daud (4-31-3) was the pick of the bowlers for Fujairah.
In pursuit of the score, the captain Muhammad Waseem (c) and Hamdan Tahir looked to give a solid start but the latter fell for just six off seven balls. The next batter Usman Khan (42) made a good partnership with Waseem (34) and steadied the innings. After these two fell, Asif Khan (54) and Vishnu Sukumaran (15) took the team across the finishing line and won the game by six wickets. The Emirates Blues bowling unit had a disappointing outing as they could only pick 4 wickets during the second innings.
Sabir Rao, Adithya Shetty and Karthik Meiyappan took one wicket each for the Emirates Blues side. With this win, Fujairah now sit comfortably at the top, having won all of their four matches. Emirates Blues have slipped to the third place, with just two wins out of four.
Emirates Blues: 159/8
Fahad Nawaz: 42(34), Dhruv Parashar: 35(31)
Sabir Rao: 4-27-1, Adithya Shetty: 3-31-1
Fujairah: 160:4
Asif Khan: 54*(25), Usman Khan: 42(40)
