RIYADH: A brilliant unbeaten 54 in 22 balls, including a last ball six, by Shabab Irshad enabled King Fahd National Guard Hospital (KFNGH) score a thrilling win over Riyadh Kharj Hospital in the final of the inaugural Inter-Hospital cricket tournament, sponsored by Banque Saudi Fransi, organized by the Pakistani Doctors group and played at the KFSH & RC ground, Riyadh.
Watched by a sizeable crowd, KFNGH won the toss and put in RKH to bat. Their captain’s decision was justified as tight bowling by the hosts restricted RKH to a meager 119 runs for the loss of 7 wickets.
Nissar waged a lone battle scoring 25 runs. He was ably supported by Faheem (24) and Tashfeen (19). Tanweer Aziz took 2 wickets.
Chasing a small target, KFNGH team got off to a bad start as they lost both of their openers cheaply.
RKH further tightened their grip on the match as their bowlers held the rival batsmen in check and took two more wickets.
It was at this moment that Shahab started playing the big shorts. But still the target was too big as in last two overs KFNGH needed 45 runs.
Shahab responded by hitting the RKH bowlers to all parts of the ground and the second last over cost RKH 28 runs.
As the match entered the last over, KFNGH scored 11 runs of the first 5 balls and still needed 6 runs off the last ball. The crowd was on the edge of their seats.
However, Shahab did not disappoint the KFNGH supporters as he struck a mighty six to claim the champions trophy for his team. His knock was decorated with 6 sixes and 3 fours.
He was declared “Man of the Match” for his stupendous effort.
Player of the tournament went to Shabab Irshad.
Best Bowler to Faheem of RKH.
Later on in a glittering ceremony, Arif Hussein, thanked all teams for their support and sportsman spirit. He also thanked Banque Saudi Fransi, especially Abdul Qadeer Mirza, group general manager of BSF for their support in sponsoring the tournament.
