JEDDAH — The Saudi Cup kicked off in style with 8 matches played in the first week.
There are 27 teams in the tournament, sponsored by Reel & Rom and UT Lines. They have been divided into 3 groups, playing on league basis. The top eight teams will advance to the knockout stage to decide the winner and the runner-up.
In the first week matches, there were easy wins for Reel & Rom, while Saudi Oil, Pak Shaheen, AJA, Peeran XI, Gujarat Eagles, Universal United and Pepsi Deccan Knight also came out on top.
Reel & Rom defeated Malik XI by 25 runs. Reel & Rom — 214 in 20 overs (Fareed Afridi 50, Kashif 55, Wajid 22, Bilal 22; Amir 5-39, Shabir 2-35); Malik XI 189 for 7 in 20 overs (Sami 50, Umair 31, Shabir 22; Imran 2-3, Afridi 2-24).
Saudi Oil downed Jamoom Fighters by 119 runs. Saudi Oil 211 for 5 in 20 overs (Ayaz Meer 66, Ali 44, Humayun Farooq 29; Qaisar 2-26); Jamoom Fighters 92 all out (Sarfaraz 38; Humayun 4-31, Ayaz Meer 2-28).
Pak Shaheen thumped MCH Green by 8 Wickets. MCH Green 120-9 in 20 overs (Rahil Subhani 53; Faisal Khan 4-19, Afzal 2-18). Pak Shaheen 122 for 2 in 11.5 overs (Shaan 25, Farhat 25 runs, Afzal 31 not out).
AJA XI thrashed National Automobile Juffali by 8 wickets. NAJ 141-9 in 20 overs (Kaifi 43, Ashfaque 22, Assad 20; Dr. Abdulrehman Khalil 4-17, Qadir 2-15). AJA 142-2 in 13.4 overs (Umar 44 not out, Izhar 37, Shahid 24).
Peeran XI crushed Hala International School by 143 runs. Peeran XI 308-5 in 20 overs (Ehtisham 75, Bilal Ahmed 94, Raheem 28); Hala International School 165-5 in 20 overs (Jawad 79).
Gujrat Eagles edged Ittihad by 15 runs. Gujrat Eagles 191 for 5 in 20 overs (Shahid 42, Arbab 30, Rashid 41, Mukhtar 35). Ittihad 176 all out (Mubeen 36, Fahad 25, Sajid 26, Sikandar 21; Shahid 4-25, Arbab 3-27).
Universal United downed King Stars by 2 wickets. King Stars 206-8 in 20 overs (Yasir 41, Shoukath 47, Umair 30; Malik 3-29, Amin 2-41, Tariq 2-23). Universal 207-8 in 19.2 overs (Malik 35, Tariq 29, Imran 36, Ahmed 28; Zubair 3-37).
Pepsi Deccan Knights beat Faisal Cricket Club by 36 runs. PDK 218-6 in 20 overs (Sohail 58, Akram 33, Ather 53; Rauf Lala 2-34). Faisal Cricket Club 182 for 6 in 20 overs (Afridi 33, Mohamed Hussain 40, Faisal Khan 52; Akram 2-1).
