Doha: In one of the most entertaining encounters of the Challenge Cup so far, City Exchange had to fight all the way to earn a victory over a resilient Yasco Riders side at West End Park Stadium on Monday.
After winning the toss, City Exchange opted to bat and raced to a total of 163 runs for the loss of six wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Jotish was in prolific form for City and scored 66 runs, Ajay chipped in with 20. Shandi was the best bowler for Yasco Riders, clinching 2 wickets for 28 runs.
Yasco Riders came tantalizingly close to achieving their tough goal. With 11 runs needed of the last two balls of the innings, the Yasco Riders batsmen fell just 9 runs short of the target with three wickets remaining.
Rasel top-scored for the Riders with 51 runs and Noushad contributed with 29 runs. City player Firoz, who was voted Man of the Match, was perhaps the difference between the two sides and took four wickets for 18 runs in the late overs. Manoj, too, had a noteworthy game, claiming 2 wickets for 30 runs for City.
A jubilant Man of the Match, Firoz, said: “City Exchange was organised very well and we got our tactics just right. It was a wise decision to bat first because we had a lot of experienced players in our batting line-up. The bowling performance was also excellent. We are thoroughly enjoying being part of the West End Park Challenge Cup. Hopefully,
we can continue to put in performances like tonight, which will
give us a great chance to qualify
for the following Ramadan Tournament”.
West End Park Stadium is hosting the Challenge Cup tournament, which will conclude on Saturday. The Ramadan Tournament will then begin on Sunday.
In this tournament, teams will be allowed to play four overseas players.
Matches begin daily at 7pm and entry is free. THE PENINSULA
