By Dr. Sayed Ziauddin

JEDDAH — All set for the quarterfinal lineup in the SCC Premier Challenge Cup 2017. The tournament is being played under the aegis of Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC) and organized by WPCA.

Zultrack and IDB Group were declared winners in the last week matches. The qualified teams for the knockout stage are Zultec, Nestle Milo, Al Safri, Waqas Malik, Zultrack, Stallions, Lothers and ALS Warriors.

Lothers beat Waqas Malik by 7 wickets. Waqas Malik CC produced 156 for 7. Usman hit 54, Rashid 15, Tanzeel 26 and Nasir 18 not out. Umar grabbed 3 for 40, Hafiz Kashif 2-23, Ali and Sami one each.

Lothers, in chase, reached 157 for 3 in 86 balls. Three overs were deducted from Lothers’ innings because of late arrival. Waqas hit 38 and Ibrarul Haq 71 in 40 balls with 4 sixes and 3 fours as the two added 95 runs in 55 balls for the second wicket after the early departure of Moazzam (11). Samiullah Khan remained unbeaten on 18. Waqas Malik took 2-12 and Fayaz 1.

Zultec defeated AOT by 9 wickets. AOT posted 164 for 7. Ilyas Lashi stroked 32, Mohammed Rashid an unbeaten 35, Zakir Habeeb 19 and Qaiser Lateef 21. Shabbir grabbed 3 for 22, while Zeeshan, Jawaid and Umair got a scalp each.

Zultec reached the victory target of 167 for 1 in 98 balls. Umair Khan smashed an unbeaten 75 in 46 balls, studded with 3 sixes and 7 fours. He first added 102 in 56 balls for the opening stand with Amir Sajjad who made 63 in 25 balls with the help of 2 sixes and 10 fours and then 65 with Javaid Iqbal who remained unbeaten on 27.

Stallions downed Marine Services by 13 runs. Stallions piled up 167 for 5. Azeem was the top scorer with 61 in 32 balls, Ahsan hit an unbeaten 27, Talha 20 and Nawaz 15. Nazeer took 2-24, Akram 2-32 and Ghulam 1.

Marine Services, in reply, was bowled out for 154. Akram topscored with 46, Shakeel was run out for 21 and Riza 22. Waqas scalped 4-9, Azeem 2-13, Talat, while Hassan Ali and Jawed got one wicket each.

Nestle Milo thrashed Timex Lothers by 92 runs. Nestle Milo opted to bat first and racked up 208 for 3. Shafeeq Ahmed scored 40 as he added 65 with Malik Naeem who top scored with 68 in 44 balls. Babar then smashed an unbeaten 56 in 24 balls to add 67 with Waseem (20). Saleel and Najeeb took one wicket each.

Timex Lothers were restricted to 116 for 8. Khurram Azeez alone batted with grit and composure to hammer 74 in 39 balls with 4 sixes and 6 fours as none other could support him. Imran Yusuf was the wrecker-in-chief with 5 for 31, while Bilal, Adalat and Sher Bahadur claimed one wicket each.

Al-Safri CC trounced UCC by 110 runs. Al-Safri CC, opting to bat first, amassed 224 for 5. Rehan Mughal hammered 57 in 30 balls. He added 113 runs in 56 balls for the opening stand with Waseeq Sherwani (48). Hasant Ahmed then hit 59 in 27 balls to ensure a big tally. Aftab Malik remained unbeaten on 22. Amir Mughal was the most successful bowler with 4 for 34. Qasim got 1 wicket.

UCC was bowled out for 114. Asif stroked 28, Ahmed Faraz 20 and Sarfaraz 16. Abid Malik was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 32. Amir took 2-12, Aftab Malik 2-21, while Waseeq Sherwani and Manjeet Kumar got a scalp each.