SUNRISE/FL – USA: The US All Stars team led by youngster Zishawn Qureshi got off to a winning start in the US Open T20 tournament, when they easily defeated the Punjab Blues by nine wickets at the Central Broward Regional Park in Fort Lauderdale, USA.
Former Indian under-19 bowler Rajesh Sharma with 4/23 restricted the Punjab Blues to 115/7 off their 20 overs and Multan Sultan’s standout player Zeeshan Ashraf then hammered 73 not out to earn the win.
Set just 116 runs to claim victory Ashraf and Qureshi were quick out the blocks posting an opening association of 62 runs in just 5.4 overs before Qureshi left for 21. He faced just 17 balls, hitting a six and two fours. Ashraf stayed the course to score 73 not out off 38 balls with three sixes and seven fours.
Earlier, it was the off spin of Sharma that created problems for the Blues, as he generated good turn on a slow surface. The right-arm bowler who was good enough to feature in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) years ago hit a spot and kept plugging away and in the end, his return of 4/23 was good enough to restrict the opposition to 115/7.
SCORES: Punjab Blues 115/7 (20) (Gurinder Saini 49, Aditya Joshi 22, Rajesh Sharma 4/23) vs US All Stars 116/1 (Zeeshan Ashraf 73 not out, Zishawn Qureshi 21) – US All Stars win by 9 wkts.
