ABU DHABI: Sharjah’s bowlers dominated Abu Dhabi batters before Usman Khan’s vital 38-run knock propelled Sharjah to a resounding seven-wicket victory in the 34th match of the ongoing Emirates D10 League.
Set to chase a modest total of 77, Sharjah amassed the target for the loss of just three wickets with 25 balls to spare as Usman Khan led the batting charge for the visitors with a brilliant knock.
Sharjah got off to an unwanted start to the pursuit as they lost their first wicket on the very first delivery as Khalid Shah fell for a golden duck.
Following an early setback, Usman Khan and Hassan Eisakhel stitched a brief second-wicket partnership for Sharjah and added 31 runs to the total before the latter fell.
Eisakhel smashed a quickfire 21 runs in just nine deliveries, hitting two boundaries and as many sixes.
Usman Khan then put on another crucial partnership for Sharjah as he, alongside Fayyaz Ahmad added 38 runs in the third-wicket stand that lasted for 11 deliveries.
Usman was the core aggressor of his match-defining partnership with Fayyaz and scored the majority of the runs before finally perishing in the fifth over when his side needed just eight runs in 31 deliveries.
He top-scored for Sharjah with a brilliant 38-run knock in 18 deliveries, laced up with a boundary and five sixes.
For Abu Dhabi, Muhammad Zubair Khan picked up two wickets while Muhammad Mohsin made one scalp.
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Put into bat first, Abu Dhabi’s batting lineup struggled against a collective bowling effort put on by Sharjah’s bowlers as they could only pile up 77/6 in 10 overs.
Ali Abid top-scored for Abu Dhabi with a cautious 23 but was a touch too slow as he conceded 20 deliveries in the process, followed by Irshad Hussain, who struck 17 off 10 deliveries.
Abdul Muqtadar Babar (14) was the other notable run-getter for Abu Dhabi while the rest failed to contribute significantly.
For Sharjah, Muhammad Mudassar Ali, Muhammad Uzair-Khan and Muhammad Saghir Khan bagged two wickets each.
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