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PCCT land Taiwan Cricket Power title

PCCT openers Shazad, left, and Mujahid, right, take a drinks break during the final of the Taiwan Cricket Power Tournament at Wanshou Baseball Stadium in Taichung YESTERDAY. PHOTO: RICHARD HAZELDINE, TAIPEI TIMES

The Pakistan Cricket Club Taiwan (PCCT) made it two titles in two days yesterday as they beat the Formosa Cricket Club (FCC) in the final of the Taiwan Cricket Power Tournament at Taichung’s Wanshou Baseball Stadium

The victory wrapped up a successful weekend’s cricket for PCCT, who on Saturday beat compatriots Pakistan Badshahs in the final of the Taiwan Annual Sixes.

Led by captain Mujahid’s 61 not out, PCCT chased down FCC’s total of 148 for 5 off 16 overs with just one over to spare, gaining revenge for their defeat to Formosa in December’s tournament in Pingtung and Kaohsiung.

Formosa won the toss and elected to bat and it looked a wise decision early on as openers Paul Turner and Formosa captain Charl Esterhuizen settled in quickly, reaching 50 in the sixth over and bringing up the 100 in the 10th.

Turner’s half-century came in the 12th over and Esterhuizen followed him soon after in the next over, before the innings started to stutter when he holed out to Amjad Zafar at long-off for 52 with the score on 125 for 1.

Turner followed two overs later for 62 and although new batsman Paul Spencer kept the momentum going with seven off the penultimate over, Formosa would come to rue a chaotic final over in which they scored just four runs and lost three wickets, including two run-outs.

Needing 10 an over to win, the PCCT innings started in identical fashion to FCC’s, as Shazad and Mujahid kept the scoreboard ticking over with the 100 coming in the ninth over as they took advantage of a weakened FCC attack.

Both batsmen passed the half-century mark in the 11th over, before FCC pace man Shubh Bera ended Shazad’s knock, bowling him for 58. It mattered little, as by then the result was inevitable, PCCT needing just nine runs off three overs.

The end came in the 15th over, with batsman of the tournament Mujahid (three half-centuries in four innings) knocking the winning boundary off a full toss to give PCCT the title.

The Xbats came in third position (W1, L2).

And although tournament organizers the Bashahs finished with the wooden spoon (W1, L2), they gave a much-improved showing, narrowly missing out on the final in a last-over defeat to the PCCT in the final group game.

In the sixes final a day earlier, PCCT made 75 for 4 (Shazad 25, Mujahib 16) off their five overs, while the Badshahs made 41 for 4 in reply (Majid 11n.o., Kashif 9).
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