Wasim Ali Mirza stole the show taking four crucial wickets as Red Flower Tourism clinched the Sharjah Ramadan Cup after a thrilling 20-run victory over Multiplex International.
Having restricted Red Flowers to 124 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Multiplex would have fancied their chances of reaching their target in 20 overs.
Instead, Mirza was in lethal form with the ball, finishing with figures of four for 15 as Multiplex were bowled out for 104.
It was no surprise that Mirza, who travelled from India to play in this tournament, was named Man of the Match, and also topped the bowling charts with 12 scalps.
His efforts did not go unnoticed, with Tourism coach MohammadIrfan Ansari lauding the bowler’s efforts during the tournament.
“He’s been absolutely exceptional and he bowled excellent against Multiplex,” he said.
“It’s because of him that we won the match. He’s very quick and the wicket conditions very much suited him. Even the best batsmen could not handle him.”
It was far from a straight-forward victory for Tourism, who were struggling at 39-3. Ubadah Barmawar revived the innings during his 28-ball stay with 32 runs while Salman Randhava smashed 22 from just 12 deliveries.
Zeeshan Khan, Imran Haider and Abdul Haq claimed two wickets each as Tourism were out for 124. Multiplex also had a tough time with the bat with Sapandeep Singh (16) the only top-order batsman to reach double figures as his team were reeling at 26-4 .
But knocks from Zeeshan (18), former UAE international Abdul Shakoor (26) and Haq (34) kept the scoreboard ticking.
With still 30 to win in less than four overs, the game was very much in the balance. But that all changed in one over as Mirza came up with the goods, taking his third and fourth wickets in the 17th over of the match.
Multiplex lost their final man for a run-out as Tourism wrapped up victory in the 17th over. For Tourism it was their first triumph in the Ramadan tournament and Ansari was delighted.
“It was a very tight game and we are very happy to win the Sharjah Ramadan Cup,” he said. “It’s been running for 27 years and that shows how highly regarded it is. There were some very strong teams competing. This is a very big achievement for us.”