Dr. Sayed Ziauddin
JEDDAH — Bowlers dominated the action as Wajahat and Amjad celebrated 5-wicket hauls each in the WPCA Premier League here.
The tournament is being sponsored and organized by the Western Province Cricket Association (WPCA).
Premier Tournament
ALS Warriors struggled initially, but had the last laugh against Friends XI by 2 wickets. Friends XI, put into bat, was restricted to 199. Hassan Malik stroked 30, Abdullah Essa 29, Junaid 28, Chintaka 26, Niaz Ahmed 14, Hamdan 13 and Anis Malik 12. Abdulaleem was the pick of the bowler with 4 for 28, Amjad 3-49, while a wicket each went to Zafran, Ramzan and Zain.
ALS Warrior lost wickets at regular intervals and was struggling at 95 for 8 by the 15th over, needing 105 of 20 overs with just 2 wickets in hand. Ramazan then hammered an unbeaten 53 in 40 balls and Zafran compiled an unbeaten 42 to add 105 off 74 balls to take their team to victory. Wajahat Shah grabbed 5-31, Chintaka 1-42 and Samer 1-56. Mohammed Khan added 26 and Talha 25.
Afternoon Tournament
Lothers defeated APF by 4 wickets. APF put on 100 in 66 balls for the opening pair with Gulzar smashing 76 and Hasnain 24. Ehtesham added 14 and Azeem 22. APF spilled the advantage of 100 for no loss to be stranded at 164 for 6. Rashad scalped 3-4.
Lothers, in reply, reached home (166) for 6 in 102 balls. Shibu slammed 42, Adarsh 50 not out, Shamsuddin 21, Badushah 16 and Umar 15. Ashraf took 2-34.
Alhamrani Fuchs scored a thrilling last-ball 5-wicket win against Awesome XI. Awesome XI posted 159 for 9 as Shakir top scored with 61 and Khalil 33. Umair remained unbeaten on 16 and Khadim 11. Saqib claimed 3-34 and Irfan 2-30.
Fuchs, in reply, got to the target of 160 for 5 as Nazaish Gondal scored 33, Imran 31, Mansoor 55 and Mohsin 14. Arshad scalped 2-38.
Thales Group humbled OMD Tuskers by one wicket. OMD Tuskers produced 115 for 9. Yashik Alangad scored 14, Mahesh 12, Hari 16 and Shafeeq 15. Amjad Iqbal was the chief terminator with 5 for 18.
Thales Group, in reply, struggled but got to the winning target of 116 for 9 thanks to Mohammed’s 50. Waqas contributed 15 as no other batsman could reach the double-digit mark. Shafiq (2-23), Yashik (2-40) and Mahesh (2-21) were among the wickets.
Zultrack trounced Azizya Elegant by 43 runs. Zultrack piled up 146 for 8 as Waheed smashed 50, Tanveer 23, Qayam Khan 17 and Zeeshan 16. Fahad took 2-19. Azizya Elegant was bowled out for 103. Ali Ansar made 39, Waqar 10, Atif 18 and Mohamed 11 not out. Qayam Ali took 3-10.
Waqas XI thrashed Hyderabad Strikers by 6 wickets. Hyderabad Strikers was bundled out for 127 despite a fighting innings of 47 by Javed. Irfan contributed 15, Sohail 14, Akeel 13 and Sarfaraz 10. Waqas Malik was the most successful bowler with 4-31 and Zahoor 2-20. Waqas XI reached 128 for 4 in 74 balls thanks to Shahid’s 76, Junaid’s 22 and Waqas Malik’s 19.
Jotun Paints got a walkover against NAI Juffali.
