Sharjah: Only last month, Noor Al Yemen fought valiantly and lost to Phoenix Medicines by four wickets in the final of the Sharjah Ramadan Cup at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium.
Refusing to be disheartened by the narrow defeat, they produced a sterling performance last week and emerged as the champions of the Alliance Cricket Tournament and lifted the Nay Group Invitation Cup at the Hamriyah ground.
In the final, Al Yemen defeated Toshiba Challengers by 28 runs.
The tournament was organised in memory of Al Akthar, founder of Nay Group.
Batting first, Al Yemen lost the wickets of Qamar Abbas and former UAE opener Amjad Ali quickly. Zawar Farid went on to crack 109 runs from 57 balls backed by Sandeep Singh Sandy’s quick 58 runs from just 27 balls to help the team post 237 for five in 20 overs. Toshiba’s Hazrath Lukman took three wickets backed by Syam Ramesh with two wickets.
Opener Mohammad Waseem gave Toshiba a breezy start through a knock of 57 from 36 balls. Vinu Vijayan chipped in with an authoritative 86 runs from 42 balls when Zaheer Siddiqi produced a deadly five wicket spell. Though Junaid Shamsu hit an unbeaten 31 from 15 balls, it could not help Toshiba reach the target.
