Nasir Mahmood Abbasi RIYADH — Ten matches were played in Round 9 of the Saudi ORIX Cricket Tournament, which is being organized by Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) here. In Al-Kharj Cricket Zone, KFSH Blues defeated Amir Holidays by 82 runs and confirmed its place in the semifinals. Electing to bat first, KFSH Blues piled up 364-8 in 40 overs. Nasir Abbasi and Ayaz Mohammed opened the innings. Abbasi scored 91 off 44 balls and Ayaz made 38. Khurram, Saqib and Nadeem Babar hit 60, 54 and 35, respectively. Arsalan and Nadeem took 2 wickets each. Chasing a huge target, Amir Holidays made 282-7. Arsalan held the innings together with 107 runs, Nadeem scored 32 and Imran 23. Usman took 3 wickets, while Qasim, Saqib, Irshad and Nadeem Babar grabbed one wicket each. Pak Shaheen beat Lahore Badshah by 102 runs and qualified for the semifinals. Pak Shaheen batted first and scored 302-9. Pak Shaheen lost some wickets soon after the start but Ateeq and Iftikhar played brilliantly. Ateeq scored 95, Iftikhar 78, Ibrar 28 and Aziz 28. The team was all out for 200. Abdulaziz and Abdulwahid got 2 wickets each, while Abdul Salam and Ibrar took one each. Jawar Al-Jazirah beat Ayoun Al-Badr by one wicket. Batting first, Ayoun Al-Badr tallied 282. Jawar Al-Jazirah achieved the target in 32.5 overs through Kashif 56, Rizwan 52, Imran 51 and Nouman 34. Lahore Lions and Lahore Badshah will meet in the first semis, while KFSH Blues will play arch-rival Pak Shaheen in the second semis. In Huraymala Cricket Zone, KFSH Green got the better of Green Bangla by 34 runs. KFSH Green batted first and scored 191 in 20 overs. Suhail Bakhshi carried the bat with an unbeaten 88. He was well supported by Rafaqat 48 and Kausar 23. Green Bangla was all out for 157 in reply. Tahir Abbasi took 4 wickets, while Mansoor Ali and Kauser got 2 wickets each. Stallions beat Riyadh Warriors by 2 wickets. Batting first, Riyadh Warriors scored 169. Asif made 38, Abdulraheem 24 and Hassan 24. Shakoor and Sajid took 3 and 2 wickets, respectively. Stallions lost 8 wickets in pursuit of the target. Imran scored 28, Amir 25 and Sohail 23. Toufeeq took 5 wickets and Shaik 2. Thales beat Riyadh Panthers by 35 runs and booked its place in the last four of Huraymala Cricket Zone. Taking the strike first, Thales scored 172 in 20 overs. Asim 44, Aziz 42 and Khursheed 31 were the main run getters. Panthers could only score 137 in reply. Aziz took 3 wickets and Fahad 2, while Amjad, Zahiduddin and Asim also got one each. Saudi Jaguar beat Fuchs by 3 wickets. Fuchs batted first and scored 185-9. Awais made 52, Mohsin 41 and Shoaib 31. Danish took 4 wickets and Awais 2. Saudi Jaguar achieved the target in 18 overs through Haider Ali 37, Kamran 32 and Danish 29. Shahid and Shahbaz got 2 wickets each. In Riyadh Cricket Zone, Pak Force beat Crescent by 20 runs. Batting first, Pak Force scored 158. Farhan claimed 4 wickets. Crescent was all out for 138 in reply. Azhar made 46 and Farhan 21. Kashmir Press beat TCS Riyadh. TCS batted first and scored 158. Danish took 3 wickets, while Mir Wais, Adeel and Qasim got 2 wickets each. Kashmir Press achieved the target, thanks to a quick-fire 42 by Danish, 26 each by Zafar and Qasim and 25 by Shabab. Serendib beat Seham in another match of Riyadh Zone.
