American Express T20 enters knockout stage

Rustam Ali RIYADH — The American Express T20 Tournament, organized by Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) and sponsored by American Express has reached the knockout stage. Al-Kharaj League KFSH Blues registered an 8-wicket win over Lahore Badshah. Brilliant bowling by Jabar and Tila restricted Lahore Badshah to 112 runs. Fahad showed some resistance with 33. Jabar took 5 wickets while Tila got 3. KFSH Blues got to the target in just 10.5 overs. Tila smashed a quick 57 and Nadeem Babar 36. Nazir took 2 wickets. Amer Holidays defeated Shuraim by 4 wickets. Shuraim posted 182-8. Badar and Saeed took 2 wickets each. In reply, Amer Holidays chased the target in 19.2 overs. Irfan scored a brilliant 94 while Shahbaz helped with 30. Riyadh Aces outplayed Lahore Lions. Aces’ disciplined bowling got Lahore Lions all out for 115. Asmat top scored with 35. Khalil, Farman, Khalid and Imran took 2 wickets each. Riyadh Aces got to the target in just 15.5 overs. Ijaz batted well for 46. Nawaz grabbed 3 wickets. CKK beat Sama Steel by 76 runs. CKK collected 220-4 as Sajid (97) and Najeeb (70) smashed fifties. In reply, Sama Steel was restricted to 144. Nabeel picked up 3 wickets, while Omar, Imran and Saud shared 2 each. Diriyah League AKCC Blues crushed Brothers-XI by 9 wickets. Brothers-XI collected 214-4. Hilal played a brilliant innings of 92. Ahmed scored 46. AKCC Blue reached the target in just 16.2 overs. Faisal and Ali recorded an outstanding opening partnership of 196. Faisal smashed 114, while Ali made 77.  Riyadh Fighters PPF downed ULCC by a huge margin of 143 runs. Riyadh Fighters posted 213. Umair (45), Zohaib (31) and Salman (28) contributed to the total. Hassan and Harisha grabbed 3 wickets each. Deadly bowling spell from Waqas restricted ULCC to 70. None of the ULCC batsmen crossed double figures. Waqas grabbed 5 wickets, Salman 3 and Qaiser 2. Nouman Gymkhana lost to Black Caps by 48 runs. Black Caps scored 189. Sameer top scored with 59 and Kashif added 35. Adil and Ali grabbed 4 and 3 wickets, respectively. Nouman Gymkhana fumbled to 141. Abana defeated Sahara Net by 5 wickets. Sahara Net was bowled out for 102. Rizwan showed some fight with 33. Nadeem was the pick of the bowlers with 5 wickets. Abana rushed to the target in 11 overs. Furqan (42) and Abu Baker (29) ensured victory. Waheed took 4 wickets. Naz thumped Phoenix by 6 runs. Naz compiled 185-6. Qaiser scored 50 and Arshad 43. Ansar grabbed 3 wickets. Phoenix was restricted to 179. Antar hit 55 and Haseeb 29. Shahid took 2 wickets.