JEDDAH — Baber played a captain’s innings of 113 not out to hand My Care Hala (MCH) Premier a 7-wicket win over Ace Initial and the Saudi Premier League T20 trophy here.
Abdul Wahed (102) single-handedly took Ace Travel to a respectable total of 189. A 180-run unbeaten 4th-wicket partnership between Baber and Shahbaz (54 not out), however, took MCH to glory.
The Ace-Initial SPL was sponsored jointly by Ace Travel and Tours and Initial Service Group and co-sponsored by ALS Borderless Logistics, Jotun Saudi Arabia, Khind Electronics, Mizo Juices, Pepsi (Sipco) and UT Lines.
Ace Travel skipper Parvez Khan won the toss and elected to take the strike first in front of a huge crowd, out to enjoy a game of cricket in perfect weather.
Ace opened with explosive batsmen Abdul Wahed and Moazzam. Moazzam (8) was first to go, caught on the fence off Imran with 25 on the board. Shehzad (4) and Maqsood (8) also went cheaply. Ace was reeling at 45-3 when skipper Parvez joined Abdul Wahed and the two went on building the innings. Their first 50-run partnership came off 31 balls, while the next 50 came off only 17 balls. Osman (23) and Shahbaz (24) were the bowlers to get the flak. Ace reached 154 for 3 when disaster struck again when Abdul Wahed (102 with 11 fours and 6 sixes) was run out. Kashif and Parvez (17) followed soon after and the Ace innings folded for 189. Jameel (3 for 22), Imran (2 for 25), Abu Huraira (2 for 32) were among the wickets.
With a fighting total on hand MCH was in trouble early on as it lost Nadeem (0 — runout without facing a ball), Kashif (0) and Qamar (10) within 8 balls with 13 on the board. But skipper Baber and Shahbaz joined forces to repair the damage. Baber reached his century off 52 balls (15x4 and 4x6). Shahbaz remained unbeaten on 54 off 38 balls as the pair put on an unbeaten partnership of 180 runs to give MCH a seven-wicket win with 16 balls to spare.
Eminent persons were present at the prize distribution ceremony including: chief guest Sohail Tanvir, Pakistan’s T20 specialist, Mohammed Bandukji and Mohammed Afzal of Initial Services Group and Mohammed Ali Jarrar of Ace Travel & Tours, Afzal Sheikh and Sulaiman Shariff of ALS Borderless Logistics, Faisal Karim and Muzakkir Bukhari of Jotun Paints, Ismail Yamani of Khind Electronics, Syed Ayub of UT Lines and Salman Al-Dajani, business development manager of Kanoo Group.
Tanvir congratulated the winner and encouraged the players to enjoy their game without looking into results. He also appreciated JCA for providing players a platform to display their skills and talent. He thanked Sameer Nidal Khan, JCA director, for bringing him to Saudi Arabia to see a new side of the Kingdom besides providing him with an opportunity to visit Makkah and Madinah.
Mohammed Bandukji and Mohammed Ali Jarrar appreciated the JCA for organizing such an excellent tournament. Dr. Faiz Al-Abideen, chairman of JCA, thanked the guests, the sponsors, member clubs and executive committee members to make the 16-week SPL Ace-Initial Turnament a success.
The awards went to: Best Batsman — Qamar Awan of MCH (758 runs); Best Bowler — Adnan Liaqat of MCH (31 wickets); Best All-Rounder — Abdul Quddus of Pepsi Deccan Knights (621 runs and 23 wickets).
Special Awards: Double Century — 209 by Moazzam Shaukat of Ace Travel; Hat trick — Farooq Pasha (3 for 4) and Wajid Samdhani (4 for 39) both of Pepsi Deccan Knights.
Umpires – Syed Azam, Najeeb Jilani, Kumar Krishnan, Mohammed Mahboob, Karam Ali, Fazal Ansari, Zainul Huda, Mohammed Raziuddin, Mohammad Hussain, Zahid Khan, Syed Awarullah, Mohammed Irshad, Ahmed and Saleem.
Scorers – Saeed Ahmed, Shakeel Razzak, Samar, Zeeshan, Imran and Amir.
Service Awards – Amir Ismail, Zulfiqar, Abdul Hai, Franke David, Hafeez and Shakeeb.
