Sports Tuesday, December 17, 2019 21 QCA President Yousef Jeham al Kuwari with Qatar T10 Cricket League winners Falcon Hunters, team owners, other QCA officials after the prize distribution at the Asian Town Stadium on Monday. Falcon Hunters Qatar T10 winners Kamran Akmal added 16 with Man of the match Chaudhry hits a BRIEF SCORES two sixes. Sadiq NM, who hit a Falcon Hunters beat Swift six and a four, got 12 in seven big six to pull off win in the final balls, while Mehmood also Gallopers by four wickets had 12 in 13 balls. QCA President Yousef Je- TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK a ball to spare, bringing joy to Swift Gallopers: 85 for seven (Kamran ham al Kuwari, other associa- Akmal 16 in 11 balls, Ali Imran 19 in 12 DOHA his teammates and fans, who tion officials and team own- were present in a large num- balls, Mohammad Imran 18 in 6 balls; ers were present during the FALCON Hunters skipper ber. He was aptly declared the Murad Khan 2/18, Iqbal Hussain dazzling prize distribution. Chaudhry 2/26) Iqbal Hussain Chaudhry man of the final as well. The organisers were worried Falcon Hunters: 87 for six in 9.5 overs smashed a glorious six and “It was a great game. We if the final would take place (Hashim Amla 18 in 21 balls, Salman clinched the inaugural Qa- knew the conditions well and or not, especially after the Butt 18 in 10 balls, Amad Butt 18 in 12 tar T10 Cricket League crown that helped us to assess the semi-finals were rained out balls; Tamoor Sajjad 12 in 5 balls; Ali with an exciting four-wicket game. It was a tough fight and on Sunday. But the weather Imran 2/8) victory against Swift Gallopers it went down to the wire. I Man of the match: Ibqal Hussain was kind enough and allowed at the Asian Town Stadium on give all praise to God for help- Chaudhry (Falcon Hunters) the match to go on without Monday. ing me hit the winning runs. I interruptions. In the final over, the win- dedicate the win to my father, The QCA president con- ners required 16 runs while who was in the stands, and my Earlier, Swift Gallopers, gratulated both the finalists chasing a modest 86-run tar- brother in Dubai, who watched batting first, failed to get as for playing well in the title get. All-rounder Tamoor Saj- the game on TV,” Chaudhry many runs as they would have clash and making it a close af- jad cracked a superb six and commented after the final. wanted. They were pegged fair. He thanked all the teams a four out of his 12 before get- Ali Imran, Mohammad back by Murad Khan and for trying hard during the ting out to Sufyan Mahmood Imran and Zain Uddin bowled Chaudhry, who got two wick- preliminary phase in a bid to off the third ball. impressively and put pres- Falcon Hunters captain Iqbal Hussain Chaudhry and team owners receive the Qatar T10 Cricket League ets each. Waqas Maqsood, reach the knockout stage. The atmosphere got more sure back on the rivals after winner’s trophy at the Asian Town Stadium on Monday. Amad Butt and Saad Bin Zafar “The game had a great tense as Murad Khan was able Amad Butt’s 14 out of 18 came snared one each. ambience, with thousands of to just place the ball for a single through a six and two fours off But regular loss of wickets The victory also exacted South African star player Ali Imran hit two sixes in people coming to watch it. I’m to give the strike to the skip- Mehmood in the sixth over. tilted the match towards Swift the revenge for Falcon Hunt- Hashim Amla said, “It was a his 12-ball knock to get 19, the very happy with how the final per. But Chaudhry had other Openers Hashim Amla and Gallopers. But Sajjad’s cameo ers who had lost the League great final and it fluctuated highest for Swift Gallopers. unfolded. I’m sure the second ideas and he blasted the very Salman Butt added 29 runs in and Chaudhry’s big hit hi- match to Swift Gallopers by wildly. But these games are like Mohammad Imran fired a six edition of the tournament will first ball that he faced over the 3.1 overs to give an encourag- jacked the crown from the op- six runs in an almost similar that. We held in there to get the and two fours in his fiery 18 be even better than this one,” rope to seal the triumph with ing start to Falcon Hunters. ponents. frantic finish. win. It’s a great feeling.” off just six balls and skipper Kuwari added. Salman stays tuned: Says trying Magid, Hussain advance in WPA world 9-ball TRIBUNE NEWS NETWORK his best to make a comeback DOHA QATar’S Bashar Hussain and RAAJIV TRIPATHI Waleed Magid booked spots DOHA in the last 32nd round of the prestigious 2019 WPA World PAKISTan’S reformed open- Nine-ball Championship after ing batsman Salman Butt feels their deserved victories in he has been doing his best in Doha on Sunday. a bid to return to the national Magid put up an impres- squad of which he was once sive performance to defeat the captain. His return, how- South Korean Woo Rio Song ever, depends on what the 9-5. head coach and chief selector His teammate Bashar Misbah-ul-Haq wants. Hussain beat Girco Bones of The left-handed opener the Phillipines 9-6 to reach the – in Qatar to compete for Fal- same round. con Hunters in the Qatar T10 Over 200 players repre- Cricket League – commented senting 45 countries from that he has been maintain- Pakistan’s Salman Butt (centre) at the QOC Head across the world are compet- ing good fitness and has been ing in the main round of this among the top three batsmen “The Pakistan batting must right. They treat the format prestigious event. Matches in progress during the WPA World Nine-Ball Championship in Doha. in Pakistan for a few years. get used to digging in. Nowhere players equally. Every since the Internation- in the world, a team is able to “You don’t see any top IPL al Cricket Council (ICC) allowed do well without a strong first- player or T20 player getting him to play the domestic game class cricket structure. an edge in anything. (Chetesh- in 2015, he has been among “You can’t build your Test war) Pujara is as big a star as the runs and finishing as one cricket on T20, or other shorter anybody else. Unless you ap- Tendulkar finds the hotel worker of the top batsmen. “I feel I’ve formats. It will never happen. preciate the skills of a player, been playing well for about four Also, Pakistan will have to you will not have people de- years in the domestic cricket. back the format specialists or veloping their game in differ- who gave him batting advice This year, I have had 800 plus in-form players. If we don’t uti- ent areas. runs in eight matches, though I lise the experience of the play- “If you start developing have figured in one match less, ers who are performing well in players for a particular format, AFP according to the correct size and the compared to others. domestic cricket, you can’t im- most of players get attracted NEW DELHI amount of padding and I played.” “I’ve been working hard prove,” Butt added. to that. In India, all formats The hotel said it had found the worker and trying to stay fit as strong I The opener had a word of like the Test, One-Day, T10 A hotel worker whose unsolicited ad- and offered to set up a meeting, while an can be. But it (my selection) de- advice for Qatar about how to and first-class cricket are being vice helped the batting of cricket legend Indian news website also said it had lo- pends on what the head coach grow the game. “You may have given due respect and atten- Sachin Tendulkar has been located after cated the man. and the chief selector, who is T20 or T10 Leagues but with- tion. All their players are being the Indian superstar launched an appeal. “I asked him (Tendulkar) if I can give one person, wants,” he added. out a strong first-class struc- looked after well. The worker approached Tendulkar him a suggestion concerning cricket,” the Butt, who will stay back in ture, it is not possible to devel- “There is a huge gap in the about 19 years ago at the hotel where he worker, identified as a member of the se- Qatar after the T10 League and op the game. Four-day cricket earnings of the Pakistani play- worked in Chennai, saying he had noticed curity staff named Guruprasad, was quot- figure in the Qatar National is the production house for all ers and those of top cricket he swung his bat differently when he was ed as saying by the ‘The News Minute’. Day celebrations match on De- formats of the game. In four- playing nations. You can’t wearing an arm guard. “I really wasn’t sure if he would lis- cember 18, said Pakistan need day game, you have to invest expect players to train in the Tendulkar, who was midway through ten to someone like me but he readily to support the format special- your time to become good.” morning and then do job in his record-breaking career at the time, agreed.” ists just like India has been do- Butt feels that Pakistan the day time for their liveli- said the advice was valuable as he re- The meeting apparently took place in ing, if they are to come back at cricket is suffering due to lack hood.