Pak Emirati star Waseem’s brilliant 51 in just 26 balls in ILT20

Pak Emirati star Waseem’s brilliant 51 in just 26 balls in ILT20
Dubai, By Nawaz Gohar

Dubai Capitals, riding on belligerent half centuries from Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Jake Fraser-McGurk, recorded an emphatic seven-wicket win over MI Emirates in the second match of the ILT20 season 2 at the Dubai International Stadium.

This contest, played in the presence of Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan and a large Saturday crowd, saw Afghanistan’s Gurbraz crack an aggressive 81 runs off 39 balls with eight boundaries and four sixes and Australia’s 21-year-old rising star Jake Fraser-McGurk hitting a breezy 54 off 25 balls with four boundaries and four sixes.

The pair put on a 114 runs partnership for the second wicket in 51 balls to chase down MI Emirates’ total of 159 for 9 in 20 overs and won the match with 24 balls to spare.

Emirates after getting off to a good start, slipped from a strong 79 for 1 in seven overs to 140 for 8 by the 19th over. Big hits from Tim David (27) took the score past the 150 run mark, but the architect of their fine start was UAE’s Muhammad Waseem who cracked 51 runs off 26 balls with four sixes and two boundaries.

He was backed by Andre Fletcher (30) and Nicholas Pooran (21). Sikandar Raza was responsible to put the brakes on Emirates taking three wickets for 21 backed by Jason Holder (3 for 34).
Brief scores:
Dubai Capitals bt MI Emirates by 7 wkts.
MI Emirates 159 for 9 in 20 overs (Muhammad Waseem 51, Andre Fletcher 30, Nicholas Pooran 21, Tim David 27, Jason Holder 3 for 34, Sikandar Raza 3 for 21)

Dubai Capitals 160 for 3 in 16 overs (Rahmanullah Gurbaz 81, Jakes Fraser-McGurk 54, Trent Boult 2 for 23)
Player of the Match: Sikandar Raza of Dubai Capitals