Punjab Stars emerge AR Sports T10 champ

Rustam Ali RIYADH — Punjab Stars emerged champion of AR Sports T10 knockout tournament here. It was organized by Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) and sponsored by AR Sports. Punjab Stars defeated Swat Tigers by 6 wickets in a thrilling final. Batting first, Swat Tigers posted 95 for 6 in 10 overs. Irshad bowled well and picked up 3 wickets. Yasif took 2 wickets and Latafat 1. In reply, Punjab Stars was home in 9.4 overs. Rustum made 30, Zaheer 23, Irshad 17 and Qaiser 14. Earlier in the semifinals, Swat Tigers thrashed Lahore Badshah White by 7 wickets. Lahore Badshah White piled up 97. Zahid blasted 45 and Rizwan 30. Naimat Ullah took 2 wickets. Shahzad (37) and Amjad (24) steered Swat Tigers to an easy win in 8.5 overs. PTI Tigers lost to Punjab Stars by 10 wickets. PTI Tigers scored 97. Qaiser took 2 wickets, while Latafat and Irshad grabbed one each. Punjab Stars won the match in 7 overs. Irshad and Hasham helped Punjab Stars chase down the second consecutive target undefeated. Irshad scored 60 off 21 balls and Hasham 43. In the quarterfinals, Swat Tigers defeated Fonte Star by 7 wickets. Batting first, Fonte Star posted 96 for 5. Safdar top scored with 33 and Waseem added 26. Haider scalped 2 wickets. In reply, Swat Tigers chased the target in 10 overs. Israr (29), Amjad (26) and Inamullah (25) ensured a comfortable win. Lahore Badshah White thumped Cricket Samarwa by 82 runs. Lahore Badshah White scored 170. Zahid (54), Fahad (52) and Rizwan (52) smashed fifties. Abu Baker grabbed 2 wickets. Cricket Samarwa fumbled to 88. Fahad took 3 wickets, while Khan, Rizwan and Atif bagged 2 each. Ahsan showed some resistance with 26. Punjab Stars beat Lahore Badshah by 10 wickets. Lahore Badshah racked up 110. Latafat, Irshad, Asif and Yasif grabbed a wicket each. Punjab Stars rushed to the target in 8 overs. Hasham (58) and Irshad (26) chased down the target unbeaten. A prize distribution ceremony was held after the final. RCA CEO Nadeem Babar, Vice President Abdul Kareem Khan, General Secretary Nasir Abbasi attended the presentation ceremony along with representative of AR Sports Aasif Shaikh and Riyaz Ahmed. Champion Punjab Stars and runner-up Swat Tigers were given trophies. Irshad Mubashir was named the Man of the Match and Player of the Tournament. Bilal Wani received the Best Batsman award.