RIYADH — RCA Chairman XI beat EPCA Chairman XI by 39 runs to clinch the first Prince Abdulaziz Bin Nasser Inter-Region Championship trophy here. Teams from Riyadh Cricket Association, Eastern Province Cricket Association, Western Province Cricket Association, Yanbu Al-Sinaiyah Cricket Association and Madinah Cricket League participated in the first-ever mega event organized by RCA. RCA Chairman XI piled up the highest total in the event, 233-4. Openers Faisal Kahn (55) and Irfan (43) provided a solid platform to middle order batsmen Muzzafar (49) and Rizwan (40) to build their innings. Ajmal picked up 2 wickets and Umer Shareef 1. EPCA Chairman XI managed only 194. Ajmal top scored with 50, Kashif and Asif mustered 26 runs each, while Nadeem batted well for his 25. Ali Shahid produced some furious pace to pick up 4 wickets, Muzaffar Majeed grabbed 3, while Faisal Khan and Syed Usman scalped a wicket each. Earlier, in a thrilling contest, YACA humbled RCA Executive Committee XI by 6 runs. YACA collected 208. Afzal hit 54, Innayat Saeed 47 and Waseem 27. Owais, Iftikhar, Saqib, Abdul Wahab and Javaid picked up 1 wicket each. RCA Executive Committee XI was restricted to 202. Openers Kamran (68) and Bilal Wani (37) had provided a good start, while the only notable contribution in the middle order came from Irshad (34). Afzal and Usman took 2 wickets each, while Nadeem, Sarfaraz and Shoaib claimed a wicket each. WPCA thrashed RCA President XI by 67 runs. WPCA scored 199 with Shah Nawaz making 63, Saleem 53 and Khurram 45. Imtiyaz Butt scalped 3 wickets, while Shoaib and Samiullah grabbed 2 each. RCA President XI managed only 132. Samiullah (32), Shahbaz (27) and Ayaz (24) were the noteworthy batsmen. Ijaz grabbed 3 wickets and Shoaib 2. EPCA President XI downed Madinah by 86 runs. EPCA put on 205 as Munawar (129) scored the only century of the event. Afaq added 40. Farrukh took 2 wickets and Naveed 1. Madinah was all out for 119 as Adnan notched 40 and Farukh 22. Raheel, Arslan, Mohsinuddin picked up 2 wickets each. Earlier in the day, RCA Chairman XI cruised to a 39-run victory over WPCA. Batting first, RCA Chairman XI posted 195-6. After a top order collapse, Najeeb (52) and Qamar (52) helped the team with fifties. Rizwan pitched in with 26. Mazhar Abbasi scalped 2 wickets, while Ijaz Sagheer, Sajid Saeed and Shoaib Ali got 1 each. WPCA was restricted to 156. Captain Muzaffar took 3 wickets, while Ali Shahid, Usman and Yasir grabbed 2 each. Humayun, Irfan, Salim and Sajid contributed 23 each. Madinah lost to RCA Executive Committee XI by 72 runs. RCA made 228 for 6. Irshad blasted 59, Waseem 46, Abdul Wahab 24 and Owais 25. Shahbaz was the pick of the bowlers with 4 wickets. Nadeem took 3. Madinah, in reply, could manage only 156. Umar contributed 43 and Arsaln 22. Saqib scalped 3 wickets, Ubaid 2, while Owais and Javaid took 1 each. In another match, YACA thumped EPCA President XI by 42 runs. Muzaffar Majeed of RCA Chairman XI was adjudged the Best Player of the Tournament. Munawar of EPCA President's XI was named the Best Batsman, while Ali Shahid of RCA Chairman XI claimed the Best Bowler award. A prize distribution ceremony was held after the matches. Nasir Abbasi, RCA general secretary anchored the ceremony. Manzoor ul Haq, Ambassador of Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, was the chief guest of the event. Other honorable guests included: Tariq Javed, RCA president; Nadeem Babar, RCA CEO; Sadiqul Islam, SCC representative, Farhat Mehmood, EPCA president; Naeem Majeed, MCL president; Dr. Syed Ziauddin and Shafiq Ahmed of WPCA, Mazhar Khan and Zeeshan Chaudhry of YACA and Abdul Karim Khan, RCA sr. vice president. Speaking on this occasion, Manzoor Ul Haq appreciated RCA's efforts to promote healthy sports activities in the region. Tariq Javed thanked all the associations for their participation and promised continued efforts to provide quality cricket in the region. The tournament was organized by RCA in collaboration with Cricket Saudi International.
