By Richard Boxall
A run feast in brilliant late December weather at Ypsonas resulted in a first tournament win for Markhor Cricket Club after they overcame a battling Royal team by 17 runs.
Markhor thoroughly enjoyed their victory, after being losing semi finalists in the previous T20 competition. Royal can look back on a good 2023 in which they won the 40-over league and came close in this event.
Markhor batter Abu Baqar Saddique was preparing himself to bat at number three but suddenly found himself having to open the innings due to the late arrival of the regular opener. Completely unfazed by the change, Abu Baqar proceeded to strike a match-winning innings of 91 from 47 balls, with 6 sixes and 9 fours.
He put on 115 for the first wicket with Muhammad Qamar Ali (33), then 55 for the second with Shahzad Ahmed (36 from 16 balls) before falling in the 17th over with a century in sight. The remaining batters kept the momentum going and a formidable total of 231-6 presented a serious challenge for Royal, who did not help their cause by dropping a number of catches.
To their great credit Royal kept their chase alive throughout their innings despite the regular loss of wickets. Umar Shah made 34 from 13 balls, Ravi Kumar 36 from 16 and Sarpreet Singh 18 from 6. But none of the leading batsmen was able to stay long enough to make a decisive contribution.
Syed Ziauddin meanwhile was occupying the crease and supporting his big-hitting teammates, but now, with wickets tumbling, he came to the fore and made a valiant effort to keep the chase alive, eventually finishing on 53 not out, with 4 sixes.
After a wicket maiden bowled by Markhor’s Zeeshan Khan Orakzai in the 12th over, Royal needed 99 from the last 8 overs – but 54 runs in the next 5 overs kept them in the hunt. They now needed 45 from the final three overs.
Awais Ahmad took two wickets while conceding 9 runs in the 18th, but Markhor suffered a blow in the 19th over when Babar Ayub had to be removed from the attack after bowling two high full tosses, and the over cost 16 runs, leaving 20 to get in the final over with the last man at the wicket.
Awais took the final wicket on the second ball of the over to finish with 4-34, confirming a 17-run victory for Markhor at the end of a contest that gave great entertainment to the many spectators at the ground and watching the live stream.
In addition to the winners and runners-up trophies and medals, Cyprus Cricket Federation president Muhammad Husain presented individual awards to the competition’s leading batsman – Umar Shah of Royal; bowler – Resham Singh of Black Caps; fielder – Suresh Gedara of Lankan Sports Club; and “most valuable player” – Markhor’s Awais Ahmad.
Thanks were also offered to the match umpires Tracey Pasquill and Sujith Tennekoon, who have also officiated in numerous games throughout the league programme.
2024 will start with a European Cricket Series event in January, before the next T20 and 40-over leagues start in early March. Any new teams interested in participating should contact Cyprus Cricket at [email protected]
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