Dhudat knock seals deal for ICC XI
The wicket was good, was quite quick, something the local players may not be accustomed to.
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. That could apply to Abdullah Dhudat, who starred with the bat just when it was needed.
He played a crucial innings to guide ICC XI to a nervy six wicket win over fancied Imaani Perfume in the final of the Southern KZN Winter League.
The match, played at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead, could have gone either way, with more ebbs and flows than the Mzimkhulu River in Port Shepstone.
ICC XI captain Saddam Patel won the toss and opted to bowl, with Farouk Darsot striking early, removing Suhail Valaniya second ball of the innings.
Imaani Perfume eventually made 128-9 in 20 overs.
Azhar Premi smashed a quick 27 not out off 17 balls, aided by Shehbaz Ragva who chipped in with 18 off 15 balls.
These were valuable late runs, coming from number nine and 10.
It gave the score some respectability, and while not necessarily a daunting total, it gave Imaani something to defend.
It was a good effort from the tail – with Sajid Patel making a steady 17 off 29 balls at number seven and Munaf Ragva 16 off 16 at number eight.
At one stage Imaani had been 33-5 and then 84-8.
Darsot ended up with 3-27, supported by Ashraf Mullah (2-18), Altaf Patel (2-19) and Abdullah Dhudat (2-22), all off four overs each.
In reply, ICC XI made heavy weather of it at first, pinned down by some superb bowling.
They scraped home with three balls to spare, but admittedly with six wickets still in hand.
At the halfway mark they were 44-3 and it looked like the trophy was going to Imaani.
It was a great comeback as they had needed more than eight runs an over at halfway and appeared to be going nowhere slowly
But Dhudat, with Asif Badat in support, had other ideas. Dhudat made 41 not out off 33 balls and Badat 29 off 25 balls, to steer them to victory.
Dhudat batted well, didn’t really look troubled and didn’t offer a chance up.
Wickets were picked up by Adnan (1-13), Sakir (1-20), Azhar Premi (1-21) and Ragva (1-28).
TEAMS
ICC XI: Saddam Patel (captain), Ahemad, Ashraf Mullah, Hamzah Dhudat, Abdullah Dhudat, Asif Badat, Junaid Mansoor, Farouk Darsot, Altaf Patel, Naeem Patel, Shahid Pavali.
Imaani: Suhail Valaniya, Imran, Adnan, Lala Safri, Sakir, George Bronkhorst, Sajid Patel, Munaf Ragva, Azhar Premi, Shehbaz Ragva, Waseem.
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