Bukhatir League: Muhammad Usman destroys NMC

Man-of-the-match Muhammad Usman of Noor Al Yemen

There was batting mayhem at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Wednesday night as Muhammad Usman played one of the finest innings witnessed in the 45 years of the Bukhatir League.
The Noor Al Yemen batsman may have missed his double century by three runs, but his 14 sixes and 11 fours in his 144-ball 197 ruthlessly dismantled New Medical Centre which suffered a humiliating 262-run defeat in the third quarterfinal, a press release said.
It was the perfect toss to win for Noor Al Yemen with former UAE captain Rohan Mustafa and Zawar Farid setting the tone for a big total.
Rohan was slightly subdued as compared to Zawar during their 69-run first wicket partnership. Rohan took 23 balls for his 26 (1x6, 4x4) while Zawar slammed two sixes and five fours for his 41 from 23 balls.
These two wickets in quick succession brought NMC back in the match only for Dawood Ejaz and Usman to spoil their party. They added 98 runs for the third wicket. Dawood scored a quickfire 58 from 55 balls (4x6, 2x4), but it was Usman who took full control of the match by destroying the NMC bowlers as Noor Al Yemen made 367 for 5 in 50 overs.
Buried under the mountain of runs, NMC just collapsed in their chase. Only Fayyaz Ahmed (20), Abdul Babar Abdullah (16) and Ali Abid (16) reached double figures. If not for the 11 extras, NMC's total (105 all out) could have been far more embarrassing.
Rohan Mustafa (3-20), Khushdil Shah (3-24) and Ahmed Raza (2-18) were the most successful bowlers for Noor Al Yemen Group.
Brief scores: Noor Al Yemen 367 for 5 in 50 overs (Muhammad Usman 197 not out, Dawood Ejaz 58, Zawar Farid 41, Rohan Mustafa 26; Naeem Ahmed 2-47) beat NMC 105 all out in 29.2 overs (Fayyaz Ahmed 20; Rohan Mustafa 3-20, Khushdil Shah 3-24, Ahmed Raza 2-18) by 262 runs. Man-of-the-match: Muhammad Usman.