Ajman T20 Cup 2022: Day 3- Round-up

Two contrasting matches were on display on Day 3 (March 15) of the ongoing Ajman T20 Cup 2022. While Maratha Arabians thrashed Ajman Heroes by 62 runs, Northern Warriors walked away with a narrow three-run win against Deccan Gladiators. Notably, this was a much-required win for the Arabians and Warriors as they had lost their respective opening matches. On the other hand, Ajman Heroes are now the only team to have not opened their account even after two matches.

Speaking of how the opening game panned out, Maratha Arabians – Brother Gas posted a mammoth 210 for 7 while batting first. The architects of their huge score were Mohammad Afzal, who cracked a breezy 83 off 36 balls, and their skipper Jiju Janardhanan, who showed the way, through a fluent 68 runs off 38 balls.

Adnan Arif’s stellar knock went in vain

Ajman Heroes cracked before the mighty score they had to chase and could muster only 148 for 8. Saqib Manshad produced a fine spell of 4 for 14 to give his team an impressive victory. Even though Adnan Arif tried to swell the total through a breezy 57 runs, in the end Ajman Heroes could muster only 148 for 8. Arif’s knock off 47 balls had six boundaries and two sixes. Needless to mention, Mohammad Afzal was named the Player of the Match.

The second game of the day saw Northern Warriors and Deccan Gladiators battling it out in a nail-biter. Northern Warriors posted 174/8 after winning the toss and electing to bat first. While the likes of Yasir Kaleem and Sandeep Singh scored 40 and 35 respectively, there were significant contributions from other batters as well.

In reply, the Gladiators got off to a horrendous start and lost four wickets inside 41 runs. However, the spice in the contest was added by Rahul Chopra and Waqas Ali, who recorded scores of 45 and 69 respectively.  However, the Gladiators eventually lost the contest by three runs.

Brief Scores:

Maratha Arabians vs Ajman Heroes

Maratha Arabians – 210 for 7 in 20 overs (Jiju Janardhanan 68, Usman Khan 34, Mohammad Afzal 83, Sancht Sharma 2 for 28, Amjad Gul 2 for 37, Dawood Ejaz 2 for 30)

Ajman Heroes – 148 for 8 in 20 overs (Adnan Arif 57, Amjad Gul 25, Luqman Luki 21, Saqib Manshad 4 for 14, Matiullah Khan 2 for 48)

Northern Warriors vs Deccan Gladiators

Northern Warriors – 174 for 8 in 20 Overs (Sandeep Singh 35, Yasir Kaleem 40, Ansar Khan 2/27, Saifullah Noor 2/51)

Deccan Gladiators –  171 for 5 in 20 Overs (Rahul Chopra 45, Waqas Ali 69, Taimoor Bhatti 3/24)