BOWLERS DOMINATED THE WEEK 10 HOSTILITIES IN WPCA
BY: DR. SAYED ZIAUDDIN
JEDDAH: Week 10 Friday Morning will be known for a day when the highest run scored by a team was 160 by Apex Freight against Bupa CC to win by 4 runs, Warriach Gujarat downed Sunbonn Sultans by 13 runs, Sialkot Shaheen had no problem against Pak Shaheen to defeat and remain undefeated in the Morning tournament so far, Nadeem XI won against Jeddah Falcons but then it was not that convincing win, Markhour XI although won against TMCC but again the win was on the second last ball with one wkt remaining. Al Saudi XI only had a very dominating win against Thales Group and it seems now Omardiene and Kashif Shafeeq will take their team not only to the last two in the Grand Finale but may win the cup for them. Both these batters have never bothered about any bowling attack here in the Morning Prime Group.
Match # 56: Warraich Gujarat XI batted first after winning the toss against Sunbonn Sultans on ground # 8 to pile up 149 for 4 in the allotted 18 overs. Mehboob Ali smashed an unbeaten 83 in 53 balls studded with 2 sixes and 11 fours as he stitched 139 in 95 balls for the 2nd wkt with Mohsin who made 47 in 41 balls with 2 sixes and 3 fours after they lost opener Nasir (0) at 0 for 1 on the first ball of the day. Although a big partnership took place the run rate was too slow as with such a commanding position they should have been at least 30 to 40 runs ahead. Salman took 2 wkts.
Subonn Sultans in response was bowled out for 136 to lose by 13 runs. Sunbonn Sultans looks batted casually with a loss of wickets at regular and frequent intervals with half the side back in the pavilion with just 46 on the Board in the 6th over. Later they scored almost 90 runs in the last 9 overs but then could not cross the figure of 149. Azeem made 38 in 22 balls with six and 4 fours, Sufiyan 24, Zeeshan 13 and Waqas 10 not out. Ilyas bowled very well for his 4 for 26 and Salman 3 for 16. Sunbonn Sultans with this defeat has gone down in the Points Table and will have to buck up in the next matches against Sialkot Shaheen (a tough one) and against Pak Shaheen (a reasonably easier one).
Match # 57: Pak Shaheen deciding to bat first against Sialkot shaheen crashed for 109 within the allotted 18 overs. Nazim was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wkts for 8 runs in his 3.3 overs whereas Babar and Hammad took 2 each. Owais scored 23, Naseer 17 and Babar 16. Sialkot Shaheen in chase reached the winning target of 110 for 3 in 74 balls. Hammad stroked 49 in 32 balls with 2 sixes and 4 fours as he added 62 runs for the 2nd wkt with Nazim who remained unbeaten on 25 to get to the winning target of 110 for 3.
Match # 58: Jeddah Falcons put into bat by the opponents Nadeem XI was bundled out for just 79 within the allotted 18 overs. Sher Bahadur was the only batter to touch the double-digit with 23 as none other could sustain in the middle. Aijaz grabbed 3 for 5 in his 2 overs while Nabeel had 2.
Nadeem XI then achieved the victory target of 82 for 6 in 68 balls to win by 4 wkts with 40 balls to remain. Aijaz was the top scorer with 33 as none other could stand in front of Jeddah Falcon bowlers as they lost 6 wkts to get to 82. If the target would have been a bit more then it would have become a tough situation for Nadeem XI with this sort of batting. Azeem grabbed 3 for 11 and Waheeb 2.
Match # 59: Apex Freight asked to bat first and piled up 160 in the allotted 18 overs against Bupa CC on ground # 5. Omair hammered 50 in 25 balls studded with six and 6 fours as he added 108 for the first wkt in 54 balls with Salman Magsi who made 54 in 26 balls with 8 hits to the fence. But once the opening partnership was broken Apex batters just joined the procession of returning back to the pavilion except Ahmed Mugheri making 20 as none other could touch the ten-digit mark to be restricted to 160. Qasim scalped 3 for 23, while 2 wkts each was shared by Zafar, Adnan and Shahnawaz.
Bupa CC in response could get to 156 for 9 to lose the encounter by 4 runs at the end. This loss has pushed Bupa CC into a situation, tough in the coming two matches, especially against Al Saudi XI. The story of the Bupa batters was not different from Apex as the Bupa top order and middle order failed miserably with just opener Rana Adnan making 39 in 12 balls with 3 sixes and 4 fours. Later from the lower order Zubair Sunasra hit 24 in 20 balls with 3 fours, Shahzad Khan 20 and Mohammed Ajmal remained unbeaten on 45 off 22 balls with 3 sixes and 4 fours but could not cross the winning line to fall short by 4 runs. Umair grabbed 3 for 17 and 2 scalps each to Usman and Abu baker.
Match # 60: Transparent Mask CC opting to bat first against Markhour XI managed 143 for 6 in allotted 18 overs on ground # 4. Gulam Ghouse hit 36 in 19 deliveries with 6 fours, Saad Malik 15, Mohammed Ali 25 in 23 balls, Hasnain Ali 20 not out and Mohammed Saeed 19. Aslam took 3 for 20.
Markhour XI in chase reached the winning target of 144 for 9 in 107 balls to win by one wkt and one ball to be bowled. Farhan top scored with 34 in 26 balls with 4 fours, Jibran 20, Shamas remained unbeaten on 32 off 16 balls and Tayyab 18. Two scalps each were taken by Ali, Altaf and Hassan.
Match # 61: Thales Group opted to use the track first against Al Saudi Xi to get 121 for 8 in the allotted 18 overs on ground # 1. Taqiurrehman made 31 in 31 balls with 4 fours, Kamran Khan 27 in 15 balls with six and 4 fours as Shakeel Anjum remained unbeaten on 14. Nayyer took 3 for 22 and Kashif 2.
Al Saudi XI chasing 124 to win reached the target in just 34 balls with all the wickets intact to win as Omardiene blasted 4 sixes and 10 fours to compile an unbeaten 67 in just 20 balls while his illustrious partner Kashif Shafeeq batted 15 balls to plunder an unbeaten 56 studded with 3 sixes and 9 fours to triumph. It is just a one-sided affair with no mercy in Al Saudi Xi camp and just carnaged the Thales bowling attack in no time. By the time Thales Group was getting to terms with the reality, the match was over.
