Sikander strikes it rich for Fly Emirates

Yasin Sikander bagged six wickets to guide Fly Emirates to a comfortable 97-run victory over Ibsons CC in a quarter-final match of the 37th Bukhatir League ‘A’ Division Tournament organised by the Sharjah Cricket Council at the Sharjah stadium.
Yasin conceded just 31 runs for his six wickets as Fly Emirates, defending a formidable total of 293 for nine, shot out Ibsons CC for 196 in the 37th over to seal a well-deserved win.

Fly Emirates, batting first after winning the toss, built their innings around Arshad Ali who scored a solid 87 off 103 balls with six fours. Half centuries by Mohammed Ibqal (58 off 46 balls with seven fours and one six) and Nigel Fernandez (57) further consolidated the Fly Emirates innings.

Abdul Ghafoor and Fayyaz Ahmed snared three wickets each, but their efforts failed to prevent Fly Emirates from seizing the initiative.

Ibsons CC, in reply, struggled to maintain pace with the asking rate against a spot-on Fly Emirates attack.

Abdul Rehman Qadir scored a fine 57 off 77 balls while Faizan Asif chipped in with 38 off 23 with six fours and one six. Ibrahim Malik (26) was also among the runs, but Ibsons CC could never threaten the Fly Emirates attack.

Brief scores:

Fly Emirates beat Ibsons CC by 97 runs

Fly Emirates 293 for 9 in 50 overs (Arshad Ali 87, Mohammed Iqbal 58, Nigel Fernando 57, Khurram Khan 29; Abdul Ghafoor 3-48, Fayyaz Ahmed 3-58) Ibsons CC 196 all out in 36.4 overs (Abdul Rehman Qadir 57, Faizan Asif 38, Ibrahim Malik 26; Yasin Sikandar 6-31, Javed Ismail 2-36). Man of the match: Yasin Sikander of Fly Emirates. Umpires: Amin Shahid and Hamid Mukhtar.