By Rustam Ali

RIYADH – The Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) started its 3rd tournament of 2019-20. Sixty-one teams are participating which are divided into four leagues namely Al Kharaj League (10 teams), Huraymala League (15 teams), Hayer League (18 teams) and Diriyah League (18 teams). This tournament is sponsored by Future Initiative Contracting Company and will be named Future Initiative Cricket Tournament.

Huraymala League: AR Sports Blue started with dominating win over Riyadh Zalmi. Thanks to clinical bowling from Abu Baker, Zalmi was bowled out for 159. Abu Bakar claimed 5 for 26. Nadeem and Asim took 2 wickets each. Blistering stroke play from Asim 75 & Abu Baker 49 took AR to victory in 10.4 overs.

Deer Stars lost to Raavi by 23 runs. Raavi collated 211/4. Abu Baker hit 54 and Javed made 39. Zia grabbed 2 wickets. Deer scored 188 runs in reply. Ashraf slogged 67 and Umer belted 41 while Zia mustered 36. Rizwan was the pick of the bowlers who clinched 6 wickets and Zain got 2 wickets.

Hayer League: Abaseen got victory over Ashes by 7 wickets. Ashes got all out for 145. Rajesh resisted with 34. Nadar snared 3 and Shahid took 2 wickets. Abaseen eased to victory in 12th over. Aftab 42, Salman 37 and Naimat 33 were the key contributors. Hassan got 2 wickets.

Battagram Zalmi was knocked down by AKCC. AKCC collected 204 for 7. Sheraz played an excellent inning of 110 and Zaheer slammed 59. Nawabzada took 3 while Atta got 2 wickets. Battagram managed 148 in reply. Nawabzada 33 and Saad 27 showed some resistance. Sheraz picked up 3 wickets and Ilyas claimed 2 wickets.

S&W Challengers Xi lost to Bengal Tigers by 12 runs. Bengal scored 191. Mithun smashed 49. Shuhaib got 4 and Muddaser bagged 2 wickets. Fifties from Fahad 72 and Haroon 68 went in vain as Challengers was restricted to 179 runs in reply. Amirul picked up 5 wickets while Hasan and Zahid took 2 wickets each.

Deccan Chargers thumped Kashmiri Falcons by 9 wickets. Falcons got all out for just 69. Aamer was the lone fighter with his 28. Afroz and Gayan claimed 3 wickets each while Hameed bagged 2 wickets. Mubashir’s fiery 40 took Deccan to victory in just 6.4 overs.

Green Bangla triumphed over TBCC by 4 wickets. TBCC scored 194 losing 7 wickets. Ashik smacked 60 and Faisal nicked 44. Anower snared 4, Zakir sealed 2 wickets. Bangla chased down the target in 19.3 overs. Saiful 38 and Golam 30 batted well. Shareef picked up 3, Faisal claimed 2 wickets.

King Lions XI was knocked down PTI Tigers by 34 runs. Mamun 44, Tamzid 36 and Jewel 33 helped Lions to post 245 for 8. Sehezad grabbed 3 wickets. PTI fought hard but managed 211 runs in reply. Naser played a stylish knock of 110 and Imrun scored 41. Habib bagged 2 wickets.

Diriyah League: Gujrat Lions thrashed Kohsar Greens by 92 runs. Led by Mitesh’s astounding 119, Gujrat Lions posted 203 for 4. Farid nicked 40. In reply, Kohsar Greens fumbled to 111. Anjum top scored with 45. Rahid, Farid and Mohsin took 2 wickets each.

Insaf and Khyber Zalmi match ended in a thrilling tie. Khyber collated 213 losing 6 wickets. Haider batted brilliantly for his 60 and Shakir stroked 48. Insaf equaled the score in allotted 20 overs losing 7 wickets. Fasial scored a standout 70 and Usman scored 30. Haider got 2 wickets.

Kams Indopak humbled Pakhtoon by 1 wicket. Pakhtoon added 203 for 8 wickets. Haroon 38, Amir 32 and Noman 32 batted well. Imran, Himayat and Zaheer got 2 wickets each. Kams got the target on final ball of the match. Ikhlaq hammered 108. Muhib, Shahzad and Adnan claimed 2 wickets each.

Phoenix beat Smashers by 40 runs. Phoenix collected 196 for 3. Subayyal continued his dream form with another 83 while Haseeb smashed 81. Smashers scored 156 runs in reply. Mudassir slogged 49 and Zaeem belted 48. Shamroze claimed 5 wickets haul and Haseeb picked up 2 wickets.