Rahat Ali Chaudhary DAMMAM — Al-Ghamdi Cricket Club clinched the EPCA Moneygram Cricket Ke Badshah 6-Over Championship, defeating Pak Saudi by 3 wickets in the final here recently. With this win Al-Ghamdi has now qualified for the Champions League to be played in Yanbu on May 24. Faisal Hospital Blue has already made it into the final from Riyadh. The Moneygram Cricket Ke Badshah, which is sponsored by Moneygram, is organized by the regional cricket Associations under the auspices of the Saudi Cricket Center (SCC). Moneygram representative Mohammad Nasir, SCC CEO Nadeem Nadwi and EPCA Chairman Abdulaziz Al-Naimi presented the awards. Opting to bat in the final, Pak Saudi made 75 through Tariq (28), Shoaib (23) and Qasim (15). Iftikhar took 2-9 for Al-Ghamdi. In reply, Al-Ghamdi CC hit 77 in 31 balls as Qamar Abbas made 24, Nasar 18 and Iftikhar Ali 15. In the semifinals, Al-Ghamdi defeated Al-Tamimi by 5 wickets and Pak Saudi downed Bin Dilamah ADPCO by 2 wickets.Batting first, Tamimi put on 69-3 against Al-Ghamdi. Aqeel Azad top-scored with 43. Al-Ghamdi, in reply, stormed to 75 in 28 balls as Qamar Abbas slammed a match-winning 53. In the other semifinal, Bin Dilamah ADPCO put on 97-4 against Pak Saudi. Nabeel scored 53. Pak Saudi reached 98 for the loss of three wickets. Tariq hit 39 and Shoaib 32. In the quarterfinals, Al-Tamimi defeated Marooj Rawan by 4 wickets, Bin Dilamah ADPCO downed Gul Stars Eleven by 17 runs, Moazzein Eleven went down to Al-Ghamdi by 19 runs and Pak Saudi beat EI Plus Arabia. Nadwi applauded the efforts of EPCA for organizing the tournament in a very professional manner. Al-Ghamdi won the trophy for the winner and a prizemoney of SR5,000, while Pak Saudi claimed the runner-up trophy and SR2,000. Qamar Abbas was adjudged the Man-of-the-Tournament for his 232 runs and 3 wickets. The Best Batsman award was claimed by Aqeel Azad for his 228 runs. Best Bowler award went to Adnan Khan of Gul Stars for his 6-46. Services awards were also given to umpires and scorers. Others special appreciation awards were presented to Zahid Khan, Imtiyaz and Abdi of Saudi Cricket Center.
