The 4th Fuvahmulah Men’s T20 Premier League restarted in August 2020 after a break of 6 months due to COVID-19 restrictions here in Maldives.
After a tense set of group games and semi-finals in the past two months, the players and supporters of cricket in Fuvahmulah City watched a reasonably straight forward win for the debutant team ‘United Indians’ against a plucky but obviously tense Bangla Tigers team.
The Tigers won the toss and chose to bat first in the bright sunlight and strong ‘cross-pitch’ breeze.
Openers Shakib and Alauddin were under pressure from the start as runs were hard to come by early on.
Inevitably, the heat took its toll on the fielding team and some loose balls were dispatched for maximums. Wickets, fell too at regular intervals and Shakib’s 50 was the highest score as his team battled on to make 127 for 6 wickets.
In reply, the UI openers, captain Mithu and big hitting Naufal make a bright start reaching 64 off 7 overs before Mithu was trapped LBW plumb in front.
After the first wicket fell Naufal changed tack, maybe on tactics, maybe on pressure. Either way, he wasn’t able to score much more and fell to a well bowled Yorker. Stumps scattered.
At this point, the Tigers could smell a chance at victory but the dream came to an end within 2 badly executed overs that saw Jinesh and Alex play some terrific strokes.
The winning runs and accompanying celebrations came in the 19th over with a stylish Cookish drive through mid-wicket.
At the conclusion of the match, VIP guest and friend of cricket Dr. Bashar presented the following awards.
Special award for dedication to cricket in the past 6 months:
Aishath Aima & Shaara Ahmed Haleem Ibrahim.
Final Match Umpires:
Ibrahim Aisar & Hassan Mutheeu
Man of the Match:
(Shared) Shakib and Naufal
Runners Up: Bangla Tigers
CHAMPIONS: United Indians
Participating teams
Fuvahmulah Cricket Academy
BKSPTB
Bangla Tigers
United Indians
Tournament Officials
Riyaz Rasheed, Jauhura, Aishath Aima, Shaara Ahmed Haleem Ibrahim, Ibrahim Aisar, Aslam Rasheed, Mohamed Haikal, Ahmed Zaadh, Ibrahim Mabsar, Mariyam Aala Abdullah, Aishath Meesa, Aishath Aana, Ibrahim Saneeh.
Special thanks to Fuvahmulah City Council for their ongoing support towards cricket development.
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Scorecard Match 01: Fuvahmulah Cricket Academy v Bangla Tigers
Scorecard Match 02: United Indians v Fuvahmulah Cricket Academy
Scorecard Match 03: Bangla Tigers v BKSPTB
Scorecard Match 04: BKSPTB v United Indians
Scorecard Match 05: Fuvahmulah Cricket Academy v BKSPTB
Scorecard Match 06: United Indians v Bangla Tigers
Scorecard Semi Final 01: BKSPTB v United Indians
Scorecard Semi Final 02: Fuvahmulah Cricket Academy v Bangla Tigers
Scorecard FINAL MATCH: Bangla Tigers v United Indians
Scorecard 3rd/4th Place Match: Fuvahmulah Cricket Academy v BKSPTB
