http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Isle-of-Man-c41000 v Sweden at Corfu – European Championship Division Two Twenty20 (Final) – Match Update
The European Championship Division Two Twenty20 held in Corfu, Greece, boiled down to a final between Isle of Man and Sweden, played at the Marina Ground on September 8, from which Isle of Man emerged victorious, by a margin of 8 wickets, to be crowned tournament champions.
Isle of Man won the toss and elected to field first, with Mark http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Max-Stokoe-c75406 (4-0-16-2) doing an effective job of keeping Sweden’s batsmen at bay.
Shahid Mustafa (20) and wicketkeeper batsman Sadat Sidiqi (2) opened the innings for their side, but Max Stokoe struck early, sending Sidiqi back to the pavilion almost immediately.
Ashik Imtiaz retired hurt after a 22-run contribution, but Shahid Mustafa went on to team up with Sunny Sharma (24) for a 48-run contribution, which got the team total up to 51. Williams removed http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Ikram-c64153 (0) in quick succession, reducing Sweden to 63 for 4.
Sunny Sharma, however, soldiered on, establishing a 35-run 5th-wicket stand with Azam Khalil (16), followed by a 12-run partnership with Aman Momand (11). By the time Sharma was dismissed by Max Stokoe, Sweden were at 110 for 6, and some final contributions from Khalid Ahmad (5*) and Wakil Jalali (4*) got them up to a final total of 122 by the end of 20 overs, with 7 wickets down.
The target, however, proved anything but daunting for Isle of Man, who managed to reach 124 by the 15th over, at the expense of just 2 wickets.
Their innings hinged on a solid 104-run opening stand between Max Stokoe (33) and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Gareth-David-Morris-c58397 (71), which got the team more than halfway there. Azam Khalil (3.5-0-21-2) made a valiant attempt to restrict the opposition, and dismissed both openers – Stokoe caught out by Sunny Sharma, and Morris by Momand.
However, Azam Khalil’s efforts came too late, and by the 15th over, with Philip Littlejohns (10*) and Oliver http://www.senore.com/Cricket/J-Webster-c65053 (2*) at the crease, Isle of Man reached 124 with 8 wickets and 31 deliveries remaining, claiming the tournament win, while Sweden finished second.
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