Hassan Arif and Kashif Shareef Shine in Quarterfinals

TACK-HUAWEI XI’s dream run in 2014 Desert Premier League continued as they registered a thumping win over Matar Cricket Club last Friday, 16th May 2014. After registering three wins from three league matches, TACK-HUAWEI XI was expected to continue their unbeaten streak as the tournament entered knockout stages with no room for error.

TACK-HUAWEI XI, having played all its league matches in Dubai, travelled to Abu Dhabi to play the knockout stages at the luxurious Emirates Palace hotel where they faced Matar Cricket Club who had just managed to scrape through to Round 2 after winning just one game in Group B.

TACK-HUWAEI XI v/s MATAR CC

Date 16-May-14

Result TACK-HUAWEI XI won by 152 runs

Man of the match Hassan Arif (TACK-HUAWEI XI)

In an encore of their brutal hitting and batting display against Lifeline Advertising in the first match of the biggest corporate tournament in the GCC, TACK-HUAWEI XI put on their second 200+ score in the round of 16 against MCC with the classy left handed opener Hassan Arif coming to the party. Batting first, TACK-HUAWEI XI put on a colossal 225 for the loss of 7 wickets in their 20 overs. Hassan Arif, rated as one of the hard hitting left handed batsman in Kuwait did what Khalid Butt did in the first match. He led the batting making sure he doesn’t throw away a good start and scored his first century of DPL notching up 106 runs with 10 towering sixes. Contributions from Yassir (20) and Usman (16) helped Hassan consolidate and play a long match winning knock. Matar CC could not shake off the brutal batting display of TACK-HUAWEI XI and crippled under the scoreboard pressure as they required more than 10 runs an over from the first ball. They were bundled out cheaply for 73 runs in 14.5 overs giving the tourists a spot in the quarter-finals. Aslam was the top scorer for Matar CC with 39 while none of the other batsmen got to double figure scores. Raheel was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up 3 wickets for just 3 runs while Asghar, Kashif and Ali chipped in with 2 wickets each while suffocating the batsmen with their tight bowling and not letting them score freely while chasing a big target.

TACK-HUWAEI XI v/s NTDE CC

Date 17-May-2014

Result TACK-HUAWEI XI won by 21 runs

Man of the match Kashif Shareef

With less than 24 hours break between the two matches, TACK-HUAWEI XI did not get much time to enjoy their thumping win in the pre quarter-finals as they had another challenge waiting for them in the quarterfinals in the name of NTDE CC. The hero from the last match Hassan Arif and the dashing Khalid Butt were dismissed early for just 10 runs on the board and the onus was on rest of the batting lineup to get their team to a fighting score in a pressure game. TACK-HUAWEI XI had a start-stop innings throughout without much momentum and only managed to put up 123 runs from their allotted 20 overs. Kashif Shareef showed great character and composure with Asghar going hard at the ball in the later part of the innings with both scoring 34 and 33* respectively as NTDE bowlers put up a strong show. Waseem was the pick of the bowlers for NTDE with figures of 3-24 and he was well supported by Fawad and Nasir who picked up 2 wickets each. With run a ball required by NTDE to secure a place in the semifinals, TACK-HUAWEI XI bowlers had to put up a special show to give their team a chance of winning. With disciplined bowling along with brilliance in the field, TACK-HUAWEI XI managed to sneak home in the end by 21 runs. Kashif Shareef, after a solid knock of 34 runs also led the bowling attack and was the chief destroyer picking up 3 wickets for just 11 runs and was well supported by Khalid Butt and Imran Ali who picked up 2 wickets each. Ali Shehzad showed a lot of aggression during his economical spell of 4 overs 9 runs and 1 wicket.

With a spot in the semifinal sealed, TACK-HUAWEI XI must not let their foot off the gas pedal with just two more matches to go before they complete what has been a terrific DPL journey so far. By winning their semifinal against VDS IT Solutions, the team will equal their last year’s performance by making it to the finals. However, with the kind of form the team is in and the support and backing of TACK-MG and Huawei, the team would want to go the extra mile this time around and bring the trophy home. Visit www.tac-kuwait.com for live updates on Thursday at 5:30 pm Kuwait time for the semifinals. The match is going to be played at the beautiful Emirates The Sevens cricket ground in Dubai with a lot of cricket lovers from TACK community and other associations scheduled to travel and support their team and promote the game of cricket in Kuwait like never before.