BY: DR. SAYED ZIAUDDIN
JEDDAH: Landmark Arabia thrashed Pak Shaheen by 8 wkts, Bupa CC had the last laugh against Super CC in a high-scoring match by 3 wkts, Apex Freight had no difficulty in prevailing over Young Strikers by 5 wkts, Nadeem XI had the better of Warraich Gujarat XI, Sialkot Shaheen thrashed Jeddah Falcons as Thales Group downed AEC by 18 runs in the WPCA Phase 3 Morning Session Matches played at WPCA Waziriyah Grounds here after a long period of Eid holidays.
Match # 36: Pak Shaheen batting first against Landmark Arabia managed 164 for 7 in the allotted 18 overs. Hassan hit 59 in 29 balls with 8 hits to the fence as he added 53 runs in 32 balls for the openings and Awais made 28 in 12 balls with 5 hits to the ropes. Kamran then coming one down hit 39 in 26 balls with 4 fours. Afreed claimed 3 for 33.
Landmark Arabia in chase reached the winning target of 166 for 2 in 97 balls to win by 8 wkts with 11 balls remaining. Siyam smashed a match-winning 87 in 37 balls studded with 6 sixes and 6 boundaries as he stitched scintillating 118 in 67 balls for the opening stand with Abhijeet who contributed 36 in 32 balls with 2 hits to the fence. Later Faizan scored unbeaten 21 and Yoganand 11 not out to win comfortably. Hassan took both the wkts to fall.
Match # 37: Sialkot Shaheen opting to bat first against Jeddah Falcons piled up 172 for 8 in the allotted 18 overs on ground # 4. Shahzad hit 62 in 32 balls with six and 9 fours as he first added 56 in 30 balls for the 2nd wkt with Yasir who made 43 in 23 balls with six and 5 fours and then 55 in 28 balls for the 3rd wkt with Rao Aslam (22 in 15 balls). Tehseen scored 15. Azeem and Waheeb shared 2 wkts each.
Jeddah Falcons in reply crashed for 73 to lose the encounter by 99 runs. Hani Qazi was the lone batter to cross the double-digit with 22 as none other could touch the ten-digit mark. Nazim grabbed 3 for 10, Babar 3 for 8 and Waseem 2.
Match # 38: Warraich Gujarat XI asked to bat first on Ground # 5 could manage 130 for 8 in allotted 18 overs against Nadeem XI. Mohsen was run out for 47 in 38 balls with 3 fours while Sadaqat made 22, Mehboob Khan 16 and Faheem 22. Altaf and Ahmed 2 scalps each. Nadeem XI in chase reached the winning target of 131 for 4 in 96 balls to win by 6 wkts with 12 balls to spare. Ijaz remained unbeaten on 55 off 47 balls studded with 5 fours whereas Esa made 23 and Intikhab 14 not out. Mehboob and Rafik took 2 wkts each.
Match # 39: Super CC was asked to bat first by the opponents Bupa CC got to 187 for 7 in the allotted 18 overs on ground # 9. Hard hitter Yasir hammered 95 in 37 balls with the help of 5 sixes and 12 fours as he first added 64 in 32 balls for the first wkt with Mohammed Sithik (17) and then 57 for the 3rd wkt with Usman Akbar (10) to get to 135 in the 12th over. Later Bilal Khan remained unbeaten on 40 off 25 balls with 4 fours and a six as he added 43 for the 5th wkt with Tauqeer (10) to get to 176 in the 17th over. Zafar Iqbal and Hassan scalped 2 wkts each.
Bupa CC chasing 190 for 7 achieved the victory in 106 balls with 3 wkts in hand. Qassim Raja hit 31 in 22 balls with 3 fours and a six as he stitched solid 55 in 27 balls for the first wkt with Adnan Rana who made 36 in 16 balls with six and 7 fours. Shahnawaz Khan then contributed 27 in 19 balls as he added 46 for the 3rd wkt with Prolific Mohammed Waseem who slammed 47 in 22 balls with 3 sixes and 4 fours to get to 125 for 2 in the 12th over. Bupa CC then lost wkts in a heap to be reduced to 126 for 5 losing 3 wkts for the addition of just one run, now requiring 62 runs in 30 balls with 5 wkts in hand and the top order was back in the pavilion. Mohammed Shaoeb (15 not out) then along with Waseem and the lower order took the team to the safety of 190 for 7 with 2 balls to spare. Usman Akbar and Aamir Ali claimed 2 scalps each.
Match # 40: Young Strikers opted to bat first on Ground # 8 against Apex Freight could get to 160 for 7 in the allotted 18 overs. Mohammed Amjad hit 31 in 13 balls with 7 fours, Tariq Siddiqui 26 in 16 balls with 4 fours, Mohammed Afzaal was run out for 28 off 26 balls and Shahid Lateef 22 in 9 deliveries as Sibtain Ali remained unbeaten on 10 and Abid Naseer 16 not out with 2 fours. Abdulrehman Mugheri grabbed 3 for 30.
Apex Freight successfully chased the winning target of 161 for 5 in 101 balls to win by 5 wkts with 7 balls to remain. Ahmed Mugheri top scored with match winning unbeaten 44 off 24 balls with 2 sixes and 3 fours as he first added 38 for the 3rd wkt with Asif who made 26 in 24 balls and then 40 for the 5th wkt with Naseem who made 23 in 14 balls with 3 fours and a six. Saad remained not out on 16. 2 wkts each was grabbed by Fahad and Tariq Siddiqui.
Match # 41: Thales Group decided to use the track first on Ground # 7 against AEC piled up 166 for 3 in the allotted 18 overs. Kamran was run out for 50 off 27 balls with 7 hits to the ropes as he added 85 runs in 54 balls for the first wkt with Ashfaq retired hurt for 29 in 25 balls with 3 fours. Taqiurrehman then hit an unbeaten 40 off 34 balls with 3 fours and Aziz 22 off 17 balls with 2 fours to get to 166.
AEC in response was restricted to 148 to lose by 18 runs. Hassan Raja top scored with 61 (Retired) in 34 balls with 9 hits to the ropes, Awais 24 in 12 balls with 3 fours, Amamant 16 with 3 fours, Ghaffar 13 and Imtiyaz 11. Aziz bowled well for his 4 wkts for 28 as Taki took 2.
