*Alishan Sharafu’s sensational century leads ILT20 Pearls to DP World ILT20 Development Tournament 2024 semis*

* ILT20 Thunderbolts, ILT20 Pearls, Dubai Capitals Development and Gulf Giants Development make their way to the Semi Finals 

* Fans in India can catch the action on FanCode while Rest of the World can watch on styxsports  

Dubai, 15 October 2024: The final round of group stage matches delivered gripping encounters, with ILT20 Pearls, ILT20 Thunderbolts, and Desert Vipers Development all claiming victories in the DP World ILT20 Development Tournament 2024. The race for the semi-finals came down to the wire as ILT20 Thunderbolts, ILT20 Pearls, and Dubai Capitals Development found themselves neck-and-neck on six points each, only separated by net run rate in what has been a fiercely competitive tournament.  

Gulf Giants Development grabbed the final last four spot, edging out Desert Vipers Development and ILT20 Marvels thanks to a superior net run rate as well, keeping their title hopes alive. 

The semi-finals will see the top-seeded ILT20 Thunderbolts taking on Gulf Giants Development, while ILT20 Pearls will lock horns with Dubai Capitals Development in a showdown between the second and third-placed teams.  

Notably, the competition offers UAE players a chance to earn one of 12 coveted berths in the six DP World ILT20 Season 3 squads, with the all-important draft set for October 23. 

On Monday evening, Alishan Sharafu’s blistering century ensured the ILT20 Pearls secured a resounding nine-wicket victory against Gulf Giants Development. Chasing down the target of 177 in 15.2 overs, Sharafu’s unbeaten innings of 112 runs in 55 balls glistened with nine fours and seven sixes. Asif Khan and Yassir Kaleem aided Sharafu with scores of 28 and 30 respectively. 

In the first innings, the Giants saw small contributions from several batters to place them at 176/8 in 20 overs. Vriitya Arvind top scored with a cautious knock of 35 runs while Muhammad Saghir Khan made 30 runs in 14 deliveries. Uzair Haider struck 18 runs in 10 balls and Muhammad Zuhaib’s quickfire innings of 17 runs in six balls, gave the innings a thrilling finish. 

Earlier in the day, Raees Ahmed powered ILT20 Thunderbolts to a 30-run victory over Dubai Capitals Development after setting a target of 184. Raees Ahmed struck six fours and four sixes in a knock of 70 runs that came in just 45 deliveries. He was assisted by Hamdan Tahir’s 29 and Luqman Faisal’s explosive innings of 25 runs in 10 balls. Meanwhile, Awais Ali Shah provided the late surge, clearing the ropes thrice en-route to a 10-ball stint of 26 runs. Ibrar Shah, Raji Akifullah Khan, and Haider Ali led the bowling attack for the Capitals with two wickets each. 

In response, the Capitals made a strong start to their innings with an opening stand of 60 runs. Mayank stormed to a 27-ball half century on the back of four sixes and three fours. Muhammad Zohaib also contributed 26 runs, but the innings unraveled after both openers perished. The Capitals bundled out for 153 in 17.3 overs as Awais Ali Shah accounted for four wickets while Jawadullah and Simranjeet Singh took two wickets each. 

In the only fixture on Sunday, Desert Vipers Development prevailed against ILT20 Pearls with a five-wicket victory campaign. Choosing to bat first, the Pearls were bowled out for 114 in 18.3 overs. Junaid Shamzu impressed with a four wicket-haul while Uddish Suri struck thrice as well. Earlier in the innings, Wasim Akram set the tone as he scalped both openers in the powerplay. Yassir Kaleem and Alishan Sharafu were the top scorers for the Pearls with knocks of 32 and 20 respectively.  

The Vipers’ run chase began poorly as they faltered to 32/5 in only 6.3 overs. In a lethal spell, Matiullah Khan accounted for the wickets of Tanish Suri, Taimoor Ali and Shahbaz Ali. It was Dhruv Parashar and Basil Hameed’s 43-run stand that revived the innings. Dhruv Parashar cracked five boundaries in his unbeaten knock of 36 runs, while Basil Hameed was dismissed for 28 runs. Danny Pawson put on 16 runs in a 40-run partnership with Parashar, as the Vipers reached the target in 16.3 overs. 

Brief Scores 

ILT20 Pearls defeated Gulf Giants Development by 9 wickets 

Gulf Giants Development 176/8 in 20 overs (Vriitya Arvind 35, Muhammad Saghir Khan 30, Aryan Lakra 22, Uzair Khan 3 for 20, Harshit Sheth 2 for 28) ILT20 Pearls 179/2 in 15.2 overs (Alishan Sharafu 112*, Yassir Kaleem 30, Asif Khan 28, Zahid Muhammad 1/15, Aayan Afzal Khan 1/50) 

ILT20 Thunderbolts defeated Dubai Capitals by 30 runs 

ILT20 Thunderbolts 183/8 in 20 overs (Raees Ahmed 70, Hamdan Tahir 29, Awais Ali Shah 26, Luqman Faisal 25 Haider Ali 2 for 24, Raja Akifullah Khan 2 for 34, Ibrar Shah 2 for 49) Dubai Capitals Development 153/10 in 17.3 overs (Mayank 50, Muhammad Zohaib 26, Muhammad Farooq Momand 15, Awais Ali Shah 4 for 10, Simranjeet Singh 2 for 29, M Jawadullah 2 for 36) 

Desert Vipers Development defeated ILT20 Pearls by 5 wickets 

ILT20 Pearls 114/10 in 18.3 overs (Yassir Kaleem 32, Alishan Sharafu 20, Uzair Khan 14, Junaid Shamzu 4 for 24, Uddish Suri 3 for 15, Wasim Akram 2 for 19) Desert Vipers Development 115/6 in 16.3 overs (Dhruv Parashar 36*, Basil Hameed 28, Danny Pawson 16, Matiullah Khan 3 for 23, Uzair Khan 2 for 17) 

    ENDS  

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