By Dr. Sayed Ziauddin
JEDDAH — ALJ Toshiba downed Nesma Holding, Crown Blue had the better of MFCC, Al-Mazroi Salonpas defeated ATC and GBest IDB trounced Stallions in the Summer Morning quarterfinals here at WPCA Eskan Grounds.
In the first quarterfinal, ALJ Toshiba thrashed Nesma Holding by 6 wickets. Nesma Holding, opting to bat, produced 168 for 9. Ben smashed 67 in 48 balls with 9 fours. He added 72 runs with Malik (21) after the team was reduced to 30 for 2. Sheraz contributed 24. Israr was the pick of the bowlers who took 4 for 14. Azeem grabbed 2-26, Bilal 2-32 and Aftab 1.
ALJ Toshiba’s chase started with Azeem hammering 72 in 39 balls with 9 fours and a six as Zahid hit 50 in 22 balls to add together 68. Amir made 16, Basheer 11 and Bilal 19 to get to 171 for 4 in 100 balls.
The match was officiated by Kashif Mirza and Zafar Iqbal.
In the 2nd match, Crown Blue defeated MFCC by 23 runs. Crown Blue, opting to bat, piled up 189 for 4. Saqib Butt stroked 15 and Tasleem 54 in 43 balls. Faiz then remained unbeaten 64 in 40 balls while Saleem Mehar hit 40 in 21 balls with 2 sixes and 3 fours as the two added 73. Yassin Waraich took 2-23, while Zia and Sajjid got one apiece.
In reply, MFCC was restricted to 166 for 9 as it lost wickets at regular intervals with half the side back for 85 on the board. Shafaqat scored 36, Waseem 10 and Jibran 26. Imran Rana then made 27, Babar 21, Mahmoud 17 and Arsalan 16 not out. Saleem Mehar took 4-22, Saqib Butt 2-25, while Arif Jutt, Iftikhar and Qurban got one each.
The match was supervised by international umpire Rahat Choudhry and Naushad M.M.M.
In the 3rd encounter, Al-Mazroi Salonpas defeated ATC by 17 runs. Al-Mazroi Salonpas piled up 193 for 7. Faisal Patel was the top scorer with an unbeaten 93 in 40 balls, studded with 7 sixes and 6 fours. Farook made 33 and Sufiyan Laheri a quickfire 26. Abdulqayyum grabbed 4 for 46, while Nasir, AbdulKareem and Sajjad took 1 each.
ATC could manage only 176 for 5 as Babar Rana made 61 in 36 balls, Abdulraheem 39, Nasir 11 and Usman Jani 16. Sohail was the pick of the bowlers with 3-31. Sufiyan claimed 1 wicket.
The match was umpired by WPCA senior umpire Sohail Shah and Imran Ghulam Mirza.
In the last encounter, GBest IDB had the last laugh against Stallions by 7 wickets.
Stallions opting to bat, lost early wickets. Jahanzaib then hit 43 and Hassan Ali 52 in 46 balls to add 74 runs. Adnan contributed 22, Waqas 16 and Arslan 11 to get to 165 for 8.
GBest IDB, in chase, achieved 169 for 3 in 108 balls. Rizwan hammered 56 in 43 balls as he added a match-winning 109 runs for the second wicket with hard-hitter Afridi (63 in 36 balls). Waseem remained unbeaten on 30 and Quddus 10. Jawwad took 2-31 and Hassan Ali 1.
The match was supervised by Mian Zafar and Meer Syed Ali.
