5 Stars Cricket Club (Pakistan) won its 1st YCL “Champion” title when it defeated Matica Cricket Club (India) by four wickets at the Sabeen Cricket Stadium on 28February. Man of the match Raja Anwar scored twenty-six n/o under pressure after being twelve for four in five overs, and took the team over the line with 8 balls to spare. Head coach Nadeem Iqbal was thrilled.
“This is the first time that 5 stars has won the YCL event having reached all previous finals of three YCL editions, but couldn’t over the line. But it happened in 4th edition due to continuous hard work of the players and it’s amazing to be part of such side.”
MCC won the toss and took bat first but due to some excellent fast bowling by 5 Stars bowlers they lost their early wickets and scored only forty-eight for three in ten overs. Only Irfan held one end and scored twenty runs. The whole team was bundled out for 79 in fifteen overs. Ameen Butt of 5 Stars took one wicket for just four runs in three overs, and Kamal Asghar took three wickets for fourteen runs in three overs.
Chasing a very small target of eighty runs in fifteen overs, 5 Stars’ victory seemed like a dream. It was some excellent bowling by MCC which created the pressure for this as 5 Stars was down twelve for four in five overs.
5 Stars captain Raja Anwar then held one end together as he scored an unbeaten twenty-six to guide his team home in the fourteenth over. Raja Anwar, who faced twenty-eight balls and hit three fours, was assisted by Ameen Butt, who hit two glorious sixes and helped his team to come out of pressure. He was followed up by [First Name?] Israar, who contributed fourteen runs in a forty-nine run partnership for the sixth wicket to help recover after 5 Stars was reduced to twenty-nine for five after seven overs.
Sabafone has announced that it will host and sponsor a second full tournament of cricket, starting in the first week of April 2014. The next YCL-V will be staged soon after the completion of Sabafone Cup II.
Man of the Match: 5 Stars captain Raja Anwar was Man of the Match for his unbeaten twenty-six runs.
Player of the Tournament: 5 Stars all-rounder Ameen Butt was Player of the tournament. He scored 160 runs (avg. 53.33) and took 11 wickets (avg. 3.90).
Best Bowler of the Tournament: MCC fast bowler [First Name?] Usman declared as best bowler of the tournament, as he took 18 wickets (avg 4.05).
Best Batsman of the tournament: MCC [First Name?] Irfan declared as best batsman of the tournament as he scored 165 runs (avg 27.50).
Best Umpire of the tournament: Team Sanaa challenger, [First Name?] Mubbashir was declared as best umpire of the tournament.
Scores in brief:
Final – 5 Stars (Pakistani) beat MCC (Indian) by four wickets.
MCC 79 all out, 15 overs (Irfan 20 & Shiraz 13; amen butt 4/1 & Kamal 14/3)
5 Stars 83-6, 13.4 overs (Raja Anwar 26 not out, Ameen Butt 15, Israar 14; Usman 8/2)
Special Thanks: to Mr. Arshad Ali Bajwa for his excellent contribution towards cricket in Yemen and arranging such tournaments.
