Sharjah: UAE cricket fans cheered for their teams till 1am on the second day of the Heera Group T10 Cricket League matches at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday night. For many it was a reminiscent of the 80’s and 90’s Cricketers Benefit Fund Series when also matches would draw a packed house every time. The giant scoreboard kept flashing thanks to the fans for the full house.
When Pakhtoon’s captain and evergreen hero Shahid Afridi came out to bat against Team Sri Lanka, it was close to midnight but the crowd, which included young kids, gave him a standing ovation. As the clock struck 12, he hit a six — something they had all been waiting all along for. Chants of ‘Boom Boom’ erupted across the stands and only died down when Afridi was run out for 7.
The two late night matches saw Punjabi Legends scoring an eight-wicket victory over Kerala Kings and Pakhtoons beating Team Sri Lanka by 27 runs.
Enjoying the action was Waleed Bukathir, the son of Abdul Rahman Bukhatir, who brought international cricket to Sharjah.
Speaking to Gulf News, Waleed, who is the vice-chairman of Sharjah Cricket Council (SCC), executive committee member of the Emirates Cricket Board (ECB), and UAE cricket team chief selector, said: “The fans have welcomed the new concept which chose Sharjah Stadium, which figures in Guinness Book of World Records [for staging highest number of one-dayers] to launch this event to the world. At the four games played, the supporters have cheered not only their teams but other teams too and that has created an electrifying atmosphere. They enjoyed every single ball and I feel this format will be a huge success. If we had more seats, those too would have got sold out. The format has brought joy and excitement to everyone.”
The packed schedule on Friday with matches finishing past 1am was also tiring for many people. Many supporters felt that not more than two matches should be played on a single day. However, as fans across the stands switched on their mobile flashes and swayed in unison, a Sri Lankan supporter, said: “It seems like Sharjah has switched on the Christmas lights through T10 cricket league.”
However, even the thundering drum beats could not pep up Kerala Kings in their second match of the tournament against Punjabi Legends. Kerala opener Paul Stirling followed up his unbeaten 66 against Bengal Tigers in the first match with another unbeaten knock of 46 runs off 29 balls with four boundaries and three sixes to help his team post 114 for 4 in 10 overs but that total proved to grossly below par against the Legends batting led by Shoaib Malek, who hit an unbeaten 60 off 25 balls with six boundaries and four sixes. Umar Akmal too smashed 31 runs off 13 balls with three boundaries and three sixes.
Team Sri Lanka were forced to bow before the spirited allround show of the Pakhtoons. Lustily cheered on by Bangladesh cricket fans, their country’s hero and opener Tamim Iqbal cracked an unbeaten 56 off 27 balls with five boundaries and four sixes to help Pakhtoons post 111 for 6. Chasing the target, Team Sri Lanka lost their captain Dinesh Chandimal for one and the rest of their batting collapsed against some tight bowling led by Liam Dawson, who took two wickets in one over for six runs.
Brief scores:
Punjabi Legends bt Kerala Kings by 8 wkts. Kerala Kings 114 for 4 in 10 overs (Paul Stirling 46n.o, Eoin Morgan 21) Punjabi Legends 115 for 2 in 9 overs (Umar Akmal 31, Shoaib Malek 60)
Pakhtoons bt Team Sri Lanka by 27 runs. Pakhtoons 111 for 6 in 10 overs (Tamim Iqbal 56n.o, Ahmad Shehzad 24, MVT Fernando 2 for 15, Shehan Jayasuriya 2 for 19) Team Sri Lanka 84 for 7 in 10 overs (Hasaranga De Silva 31, Liam Dawson 2 for 6)
