ABU DHABI: Salman Khan and Muhammad Usman starred with the bat as Fujairah on Sunday, thumped Abu Dhabi by 62 runs and claimed Emirates D10 League 2023 title.
Fujairah batters fired all cylinders and made Abu Dhabi pay for their decision to bowl first. The visitors piled up a massive total of 139 for the loss of five wickets with Salman Khan and Muhammad Usman leading the charge with brilliant half-centuries.
Fujairah got off to a contrasting start as they were two down for 32 runs in the third over as opening batter Hameed Khan (8) and Raees Ahmed (11) perished cheaply.
Following the early slump, Salman and Usman partnered strongly for the third wicket and added 80 runs to the total in just 31 deliveries before the former fell.
Muhammad Zubair Khan castled Salman Khan, briefly after he amassed his half-century and provided a much-needed breakthrough to Abu Dhabi in the Emirates D10 League final.
Salman Khan smashed four boundaries and three sixes on his way to a 24-ball 51 and remained the top-scorer for Fujairah.
Fujairah then sustained another blow to their flying batting charge as Nasir Faraz (1) fell victim to Raja Akifullah Khan in the next over.
Muhammad Usman Khan and Hafiz Almas then ran riot in the next over as they scored 19 runs in the last over before the former got run out on the final delivery.
Salman remained the notable run-getter for Fujairah with a 21-ball 50 with the help of four boundaries and three sixes.
For Abu Dhabi, Raja Akifullah Khan and Muhammad Zubair Khan picked up two wickets each.
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Set to chase a mammoth in Emirates D10 League final, Abu Dhabi’s batting lineup stuttered and could only raise 77 runs before bundling out in the final over.
Opener Mohammad Kamran Atta (22) and in-form middle-order batter Ali Abid (23) were the notable run-getters for the hosts while the rest failed to make significant contributions at the grand stage.
Besides Atta and Abid, only Anoop Gopalkrishna (14) could make it into the double digits.
Mohammed Faraazuddin and Umair Ali Khan led the bowling attack for Fujairah with two wickets each while Muhammad Rohid, Shahbaz Ali, Haider Ali and Nasir Faraz made one scalp each.
It is worth mentioning here that eventual champions Fujairah put on a dominant show throughout the recently-concluded Emirates D10 League as the side also finished at the top of the standings.
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