By Dr. Sayed Ziauddin
JEDDAH — In WPCA afternoon matches Thales Group downed UCC by 33 runs, Jotun Paints beat Mercedes Benz on the last ball by 2 wickets, OMD Tuskers continued their good show, beating Azeemi Travels, El Seif surprised Marine Services by 18 runs and Contraco thrashed Natcom by 100 runs in the WPCA Afternoon tournament. In the Premier matches ALS Warriors defeated MCC and Crown Steel, while Zultec beat AOT.
Thales Group stunned UCC by 33 runs. Thales tallied 183 for 3. Abdulwaheed hammered 67 in 44 balls as he added 91 with Amjad (33). Yasir (36 n.o.) and Awais (33 n.o.) added 58 runs. Raja Mudassar took 2-24. UCC reached 150 for 8. Ahmed Faraz hit an unbeaten 82 off 60 balls with 9 fours. Obaidurrehman made 18. Azhar took 3 for 22 and Yasir 2-19.
Jotun Paints managed a 2 wickets win over Mercedes Benz, who were bowled out for 146. Imad hit 19, Sameer 16 and Afzal 33. Qasim finished with 4 wickets for 10 runs, Akram 3 for 22 and Shabbir 2-20. Jotun Paints reached 147 for 8 on the last ball of the day. Skipper Shabbir smashed match-winning 75 in 57 balls with 7 fours as Akram (18) too stood out. Saifuddin took 4 wickets for 21.
OMD Tuskers defeated Azeemi Travels by 8 wickets. Azeemi Travels was bundled out for 113. Shakir made 28, Abdulhafeez 15 and Nadeem Sagheer 22. Shamsuddin grabbed 4 wickets for 6 and Kabir 2-15. OMD Tuskers tallied 116 for 2 in 72 balls. Sabur hit 41, Rameez 18, Anzer 21 and Kadhiri 18.
El Seif Engg Co won by 18 runs. El Seif totaled 142 for 9. Sadam made 18, Yasir 19, Khan 15 and S. Khan 28 not out. Naseer took 3 for 20, Akram 2-21, Ayaz 2-27. Marine Services were restricted to 124 for 9. Umair hit 31 and Akram 40. Sadam took 4 wickets for 26 and Mubarak 3 for 18.
Contraco routed Natcom by 100 runs. Contraco hit 168 for 9. Moon Shah 23, M. Asif 20, Asif Mehmood 28 and Usman 17 contributed. Abdulbasit grabbed 3 for 16, Farhan 2-22 and Awais 2-42. Natcom then crashed to 68. Amir Shahzad hit 24 and Faisal 19. Asif Malik had 2-8 and Zeeshan 2-11.
PREMIER T 20:
ALS Warriors overcame MCC by 62 runs. ALS Warriors blasted 223 for 6 with Abdullah Essa smashing 101 runs in 57 balls studded with 8 fours as he added 62 with Mohammed Khan (31). Fahad remained unbeaten on 25. MCC were held to 161 for 8. Shahid scored 26, Khalid Butt 17 and Khawar Sohail 43. Talha took 2-4 and Haider 2-46.
ALS Warriors then pipped Crown Steel by 26 runs. ALS Warriors piled up 202 for 6. Mohammed Khan stroked 47 as he added 74 with Humayun Khan 62 in 38 balls. Fahad scored 24 as Talha hit 43 not out. Ijaz Sagheer took 2-35 and Azeem 2-40. Crown Steel reached 176 for 9. Crown Steel had a poor start of 16 for 3, but Khurram Karamat then smashed 57 in 35 balls as he added 54 with Imran Azam (13).
Javed Iqbal hit 17, Shafaqat 20, Azeem 23 not out and Junaid 19 but they failed in their victory bid. Abdulaleem grabbed 3 for 41 and Haider 2-38. Zultec beat AOT by 8 runs. Zultec totaled 204 for 9. Aamir hammered 55 in 25 balls, Waqar 36 and Shahbaz Rasheed smashed 63 in 31 balls. Mustafa took 3 for 26 and Moiz 2-28.
AOT gave chase but managed only 196. Rafeeq blasted 70 in 37 balls with 8 fours and a six as Gulam Mustafa made 26 after early jolts. Maqsood compiled 23 and Naeem Shah 26.
