YANBU — Pak Crescent and Al-Muzain won their respective semifinals to set up Group A Al-Muzain Cup final here recently.



In the first semifinal, Al-Muzain defeated Cristal XI by 69 runs. Opting to bat first, Al-Muzain scored 193 for 9 wickets. It lost its openers early, but a 139-run partnership off 91 balls between Inayat (62) and Yaseen (80) helped Al-Muzain reach the decent total. Sagheer took 4-26. In reply, Cristal could score only 124 for 8. Zia (31) and Jamil (24) were among the runs. Yaseen took 3 wickets for 19.



In the second semifinal, Pak Crescent thrashed Indo Riders by 9 wickets. Indo Riders put on 93. In reply, Pak Crescent reached the target for the loss of one wicket. Mohsen and Nadeem remained unbeaten for 38 and 40 runs, respectively.



STICCO and Natpet made the Group B final. STICCO defeated Mangalore Challengers by 12 runs. STICCO, batting first, put on 166 for 9. Nasar was the top scorer with 53. Atif took 3 wickets for 27. In reply, Mangalore Challengers could score only 154 runs for 8. Irfan hit 42. Nasar and Noor took two wickets each for 25 and 19 runs, respectively.



In the second match, Natpet defeated Punjab XI by 7 wickets. Punjab was all out for 83 in 16.4 overs. Jaleel took 4 for 16, while Mahmood took 3 for 15. In reply, Natpet scored the required runs in 15 overs for the los of 3 wickets. Afaq (21) and Mahmood (28 not out) were among the runs. Waqas took 2 wickets for 12.



The tournament is sponsored by Al-Muzain and organized by Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah Cricket Association. — SG