By Rustam Ali

RIYADH — All matches of league stage of the ongoing Western Union T20 tourney were completed this week and top eight teams of each league made it to quarterfinals. Western Union T20 is being organized by Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) and is sponsored by Western Union Money Transfer.

Hayer League: Dana Trading knocked down Kashmir XI by 4 runs. Fifties from Shahzad 56 and Ishtiaq 50 helped Dana to post 187 for 8. Gulzar, Mudasir and Aamir took 2 wickets each. Kashmir fought hard but fell just short as they finished their inning at 183. Noor and Aamir batted well for 50 and 46 runs respectively. Anwar bagged 3 and Mamun got 2 wickets.

AKCC triumphed over Challengers by 34 runs. AKCC amassed 224 losing 4 wickets. Faisal smacked 100, Mohammad nicked 40 while Sheraz pushed 38. Fahad snared 2 wickets. Challengers, in reply, managed only 190. Haroon slammed 55, Kartik added 41 and Fahad scored 41. Zaheer was simply unplayable as he picked up 7 wickets. Abdul Qadir claimed 2 wickets.

Indian Strikers thrashed Ar Riyadh Zalmi. Led by a stunning knock of 133 by Kannan, Strikers posted an astounding 267 for 6. Prasanth batted well for his 57. Nasir took 3 and Arif got 2 wickets. Chasing a massive total, Zalmi scored 196 in reply. Arif played fighting inning scoring 95 with no support from rest of the team. Prasanth clinched 3, while Sajith & Fenil sealed 2 wickets each.

King Lions registered a win over Saudi Knights by 21 runs. Lions Xi collated 239 losing 6 wickets. Jewel batted brilliantly for his 88 and Tamzid helped with 38. Khuram and Dinees took 2 wickets each. Knights managed 218 runs in reply. Rizwan scored a standout 85 and Taher hit 47.

Diriyah League: Phoenix humbled Almarai by 7 wickets. Almarai totaled 192. Sajjad scored 48 and Raheel hit 41. Mujtaba was the pick of the bowlers who claimed 5 wickets haul while Antar and Haseeb shared 2 wickets each. Phoenix chased down the target in 19th over. Subayyal hammered his 2nd consecutive ton, he scored an unbeaten 130. Amir picked up 2 wickets.

Deccan Chargers beaten Tamauz by 9 wickets. Tamauz got all out for a below par 106. Rahman resisted with his 40. Rahel and Daynal bagged 3 wickets each. Deccan rushed to target in just 8.5 overs. Mubashir slogged 57 and Shanawaz belted 15 balls 43.

Knight Hawks humbled Indian Strikers Blue by 6 wickets. Indian collated 183 losing 7 wickets. Faizullah whacked 81 and Sajo scored 31. Nigil claimed 3, Arman bagged 2 wickets. Hawks rushed to the target in 16.3 overs. Rashid and Nigil hit fifties scoring 55 and 52 runs respectively. Sajo clinched 3 wickets.

Karachi Kings thrashed Shinkari United by 67 runs. Karachi accumulated 207 for 6. Zain played an excellent inning of 111 and was supported by Faiz with 30. Zaib and Minhaj sealed 2 wickets each. Shinkari fumbled to just 140 runs in reply. Janaan resisted with 31. Umar, Arif and Imran claimed 3 wickets each.

Smashers trounced Kohsar Green by 7 wickets. Kohsar was bowled out for a meager 122. Abdul Samad scored 51 and Sohail did 31. Naveed and Zaeem ran through the batting picking up 4 and 3 wickets respectively. Smashers chased down the target in 12.2 overs. Naved whacked 60 and Zaeem made 33. Amir bagged 2 wickets.

Riyadh Thunders swept to victory against Shadin Bangla by 37 runs. Thunders piled up 218 /5. Osama slogged 55 and Bilal bashed 54 while Imran scored 48. Naeem grabbed 2 wickets. Bangla scored 181 runs in reply. Rehan belted 50 and Zorshad made 43. Zohaib clinched 3 wickets while Salman and Subhani shared 2 wickets each.