By Ali Mohammed Khan
JEDDAH — On a day which marked the beginning of the knockout rounds of 6th season of Jeddah Champions Trophy (JCT), some of the top teams, including one of the tournament favorites Hyderabad Royals, crashed out of the tournament.
Bowling first against a formidable Mangalore Friends batting lineup Hyderabad Royals failed to contain the opposition as they racked up 129 runs in their allotted 15 overs with Man-of-the-Match Rukshan Jayanath scoring an unbeaten 44. In reply, Hyderabad Royals failed to maintain the tempo going as they fell short by 42 runs and eventually got eliminated from the tourney.
In another shocking result, table toppers Independence CC lost to Yorkshire by 3 wickets to be ousted from the event. Batting first, Independence CC set a target of 108 which Yorkshire chased down with 5 balls to spare as Man-of-the-Match Latif scored a quickfire 32 off 16 balls.
In other matches, Nazar Guys made short work of a target of 69 set by United Carton CC as they coasted home with utmost ease with more than 5 overs to spare. Tournament front-runners Konkan XI also had an easy outing as its premier all-rounder Sajjad Patel ran through the Hyderabad Warriors batting line up to restrict them to 92. In reply, Anas scored a boundary-studded 36 off just 14 balls as Kokan XI hit the target with 8 wickets in hand.
In one of the most one-sided knockout matches, Jeddah Gladiators ran amok against Jeddah Strikers by scoring 179 with Rifaz doing the bulk of scoring by smashing 88 off 43 balls. In reply, Jeddah Strikers never looked in the hunt as they lost wickets at regular intervals to finally get bundled out for 90.
Arabian XI, Coastal Gladiators and Jeddah Warriors Club were the other teams which qualified to the pre-quarters by defeating KSA Blue, Kings XI Hyderabad and Mahajar Heroes, respectively.
The tournament is being organized by team Azizia Deccan in association with Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC). The title is sponsored by Al-Miawiah. The co-sponsors are Al-Salem York, Aqualite, Clas, G21 Optics and Intalaka Group.
Brief scores:
Mangalore Friends 129-4 in 15 overs (Rukshan Jayanath 44 not out; Joynal 2-22) beat Hyderabad Royals 87-7 (Fasiullah 17; Ali Saif 2-12). Man of the Match: Rukshan Jayanath.
Independence CC 107-8 (Thoufeek 31; Latif 2-19) lost to Yorkshire 108-7 in 14.1 overs (Latif 32, Waseemuddin 2-20). Man of the Match: Latif.
KSA Blue 90 all out in 15 overs (Khader 17; Yahya 3-22) lost to Arabian XI 91-6 in 13.5 overs (Azeem 29 not out, Talha 2-11). Man of the Match: Azeem.
Hyderabad Warriors 92-8 (Anwar 18; Sajjad Patel 4-15) lost to Konkan XI 96-2 in 10.3 overs (Anas 36 not out; Moid 1-18). Man of the Match: Sajjad Patel.
Coastal Gladiator 117-8 (Yousuf 22; Aqil 2-23) beat Kings XI Hyderabad 83 all out in 14.3 overs (Jaffer 22; Abid 3-11). Man of the Match: Abid.
Jeddah Gladiators 179-6 (Rifaz 88; Shaik Saqid 2-29) beat Jeddah Strikers 90-9 in 15 overs (Fazal 17; Arsalam 4-6). Man of the Match: Rifaz.
Mahajar Heroes CC 71 all out in 15 overs (Muneer 21 not out; Shahjahan 2-7) lost to Jeddah Warriors Club 72-7 in 12.2 overs (Anish 26; Mansoor 2-6). Man of the Match: Shahjahan.
United Carton CC 68-9 (Bal Bahadur 29; Mazhar 2-10) Lost to Nazar Guys 71-3 in 9.5 overs (Naheem 26; Divesh 2-13). Man of the Match: Mazhar.
