Week 131: WPCA KNOCK OUT STAGE REPORT OF MAY 13, 2022

MORNING DIVISION: BUPA AND NADEEM XI QUALIFIED FOR THE GRAND FINALE

DR. SAYED ZIAUDDIN:
In the Morning Prime Bupa CC defeated Super CC by 8 wkts in the Qualifier 1 while Nadeem XI prevailed over Arbros by 4 wkts to be in the Grand Finale. In the Eliminator matches in Morning Prime AEC qualified for Qualifier 2 after thrashing Apex Freight as Bupa Arabians has the last laugh against Sialkot Shaheen to qualify for Qualifier 2 in Morning Blue Group.

Super CC was put in to bat by the opposition Bupa CC could manage 174 for 8 despite their score at the halfway mark is 118 for 1 with Yassir in sublime touch hit 8 sixes and 6 fours to compile 96 in 40 balls as his fifty came in 23 balls as he first added 58 in 36 balls for the first wkt with Mohammed Sithik (15) and then 75 in 39 balls for the 2nd wkt with Abid Iqbal who stroked 20. Once Yassir departed at 133 for 2, the Super batters could not maintain the tempo to be stranded at 174 for 8. Ahsan made 12 and Tauqeer 11. Rana Adnan took 4 wkts for 14 runs as Zafar and Adnan had a scalp each.

Bupa CC in chase achieved the victory target of 177 for 2 in 87 balls to win the Morning Prime qualifier 1 and with that the first team in the Morning Prime in the Grand Finale. Attah Khan in classy touch compiled 65 in 28 balls with 2 sixes and 9 fours as he first added 87 in 39 balls for the opening stand with Qasim who made 33 with 3 sixes and 3 fours and then Waseem Mehar remained unbeaten on 44 off 28 balls with 2 sixes and 3 fours to stitch 72 runs in 37 balls for the unbroken 3rd wkt with Shahnawaz Khan who was unbeaten on 26 off 13 balls with 2 sixes to get to the target of 177 for 2 in 87 balls to win. Ahsan took 2 for 30.

Rana Adnan bagged the MOM for his 4 wkts for 14 runs.

In the Morning Blue Qualifier 1, Nadeem XI thrashed Arbros by 4 wkts to win a place in the Morning Blue Finale. Nadeem XI asked the opponent Arbros to bat first on Ground # 9. Arbros using the track first started reasonably well but the run rate was quite disappointing as in the first 10 overs they could get to 57 for 3 and eventually were restricted to 134 for 8 in the allotted 20 overs. Rashid Mohammed was the top scorer with 42 in 35 balls with 5 fours and a six as he added 53 in 36 balls for the 5th wkt with Faisal who remained unbeaten on 21. It was a pathetic batting display with none of their batters going for bigger scores as Ali Daud made 20, Nasir and Anil 14 each. Sufiyan grabbed 2-25 and Altaf 2-24 and a wkt each to Musa, Ahmed and Nadeem.

Nadeem XI in chase took 97 balls to get to 140 for 6 to win by 4 wkts with 23 balls to remain. Although with this win Nadeem XI are through to the last top two the way they batted was not convincing at the end. They will have to bat aggressively in the Final to impress.  Ahmed was the highest scorer with 42 in 22 balls with 2 sixes and 3 fours, Saddam 22 and Sadam Hussain remained unbeaten on 33 off 15 balls as Nadeem made 13 and Intikhab 12. Rashid claimed 3 for 22, Minhaj 2 for 24 and Abdulrehman one.

Ahmed of Nadeem XI received the MOM for his 42 in 23 balls and one scalp.

In the Eliminator Playoff in the Morning Prime AEC had the last laugh against Apex Freight to win and qualify for the Qualifier 2. AEC was asked to bat first by the opposition and plundered 214 for 6 in the allotted 20 overs. Abdulrehman Patel batted well for his 51 in 33 balls with 6 fours and a six, as he added 78 in 51 balls for the 2nd wkt with Amanat who made 35 in 24 balls with six and 3 boundaries. Muzammil made 19. Later Mohammed Humair Awais remained unbeaten on 43 off just 13 balls with 2 sixes and 6 hits to the fence to cross over to the tally of 200+.  Tariq Chand made 27 in 18 balls and Yasir 15. Saeed Ahmed took 2-27 and a scalp each to Sardar, Asif, Zahid and Rizwan.

Apex Freight replied in a positive with Mohammed Suleman hitting 3 sixes and 13 fours to compile 90 in 42 balls to stitch 90 in 48 balls for the opening stand with Mohammed Naeem (18) and then 64 in 35 balls for the 2nd wkt with Qaiser Noor who hit 53 in 30 balls with six and 6 fours to give a solid start while chasing a big target. But then they started to lose wkts at 183 for 2 to be reduced to 188 for 6 as MOM Kamran grabbed 3 wkts in one over as the required run rate climbed up with Apex requiring 27 runs in 12 balls and then 17 runs in the last over. They could get to 206 for 7 in stipulated 20 overs to lose by 6 runs at the end. With that, the Apex Journey in this tournament came to an end and AEC will move forward to play in the Qualifier 2 against Super CC next Friday.

Kamran of AEC grabbed the MOM for his 3 for 26 to put the breaks on APEX march.

In the last match of the day in Eliminator of Morning Blue Bupa Arabians continued the trend in the Morning Session of asking the opposition to bat as Sialkot Shaheen opted to field after winning the toss against Bupa Arabians on ground # 4. Bupa Arabians started well but the openers Siyam (160 and Skipper Waseem Amre (6) did not last long to be back with 43 for 2.  Later Rabih Wali who hammered 49 in 36 balls with 3 boundaries and a six and Afreed 41 in 30 balls added 84 in 54 balls for the 3rd wkt to get to 127 for 3 in 13 overs. Then Sher Bahadur made 20 and Shahul 18 to get to 183 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs. Tehseen scalped 3 for 30, and a piece each to Naeem, Ihsan Khan and Yaser.

Sialkot Shaheen in reply started well with a 66 runs partnership in 47 runs for the 2nd wkt between Shahzad who hammered 50 in 39 balls with 6 fours and a six and Rao Aslam 31 in 22 balls with 5 hits to the fence. Sialkot Shaheen at one stage 93 for 2 at the end of the 10th over requiring another 88 runs in another 10 overs with 8 wkts in hand was in a commanding position. But then they started to lose wkts in pairs as they got reduced to 113 for 4 from 113 for 2, then 119 for 6 from 119 for 4 and later 140 for 9 in the 19th over. The fall of wkts in the middle order pushed them on the reverse and they required 48 runs in the last 18 balls. Then 1t 140 for 9 and in the 19th over they decided to call back the batters in the middle to Forfeit the match. Which was against the discipline of Spirit of the Games to accept the defeat with grace and they tried to make lame excuses for which they themselves were responsible. Obaid took 3 for 25, Rabih Wali 3 for 36 and a wkt each to Sher Bahadur and Siyam.

Man of the Match was awarded to Rabih Wali for his 49 in 36 balls and 3 for 36.

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