Rahat Chaudhry JEDDAH — Sixteen teams have entered the final Moneygram Tournament stage where they will compete for the crown Friday. Starting from a record number of 42 teams, the 16 remaining teams will also be eyeing the prized fourth spot in the Champions League. In action on Ground No. 1, UCC (69) lost to OTEX (70) with Amjad scoring 30. In another match Crown Steel blasted 129-2 with Abu Huraira plundered 6 sixes and 11 fours in 24 balls to remain unbeaten on 87. Haneefa Tigers, in reply, crumbled for 41. Kabir took 2-6 for Crown Steel. New Young Stars posted 57-3 against Orbital Horizon (61) and lost by 3 wickets with Faisal scoring 41. Al-Saudi-XI piled up 89-5 as Nazeer Farooqui hit 42. Nesma Holding was restricted to 65-5 with Akram scoring 26 and Mazhar taking 2-2. On Ground No. 4, ALJ Toyota posted 77-3 through Imran Rana (30 not out). AMI Juffali reached the target of 78 for 3 with Emad scoring 27. Mazco racked up 90-2 as Haroon hit 41. Elaf Advance could manage only 60-4 through Ehtesham 30. Haroon claimed 2-16. On Ground No. 7, Nestle Milo racked up 107-2 to beat Jeddah Royals by 88 runs. Fahim slammed 60 (5 sixes and 3 fours), while Imran hit 32. Faiyyaz took 3-1, while Aijaz Butt scalped 2-11. Mercedes Benz racked up 73-5 as Jibran remained unbeaten on 38. Crown Blue was crushed for 29. Amir took 2-6 and Saifuddin 2-8. On Ground No. 8, MQ Group set up 68-4 through Babar (44 not out). Naeem Shah grabbed 2-4. AOT Al-Farooq reached 73-1 as Faisal hit 38. Hala Gems scored 65-5 as Amjad compiled 28. Maqsood took 2-3. APF chased 68-1 through Khurram smashing 51 not out off 19 balls. The biggest upset of the tournament came in the knockout stages prior to pre-quarters, when OTEX beat Crown Steel. Batting first OTEX made 70 thanks to Irfan's 38. Crown Steel, however, lost wickets at crucial stages and could manage only 65. In another match, Johnson Control piled up 90-1 as Khubab remained unbeaten on 51 (6 fours and 2 sixes) and Asad hit 34 not out. Natcom replied with 66-4 as Jameel hit 25. Amir took 2-10. Hala Academy White scored 70-3 with Furqan hitting 39. Shahid took 2-8. In reply, Orbital Horizon was all out for 37. Another tournament favorite, My Care Hala racked up 125-3 through Kashif Shafeeq blasting 52, while Wahid Nasir remained unbeaten on 43. Maqsood took 2-17. New Young Stars replied with 57-2 with Bilal Ahmed making 32 not out. Al-Saudi-XI tallied 85-4 as Moiz Imran smashed 57 (7 fours and 2 sixes). ALJ Toyota could score only 60-5 with Imran Rana making 34. Naveed took 2-3. AOT Youngsters made 58-2 with Malik making 39. QRCC achieved the target of 59 for the loss of one wicket. Abdulrauf hit 33. Contraco posted 87-2 through Irfan smashing 55 (7 sixes and 2 fours). Mazco reached 88 without loss as Shahid hit 50 and Haroon 36. Hala Academy Blue piled up 79-4 through Ramazan (25 not out). Bilal took 2-6. Zultrack equaled 79-2 to tie the match as Bilal contributed 45. Zultrack scored 14 in the Super Over and Hala Blue managed to overhaul it. AOT Al-Farooq piled up 92-2 with Naeem Shah smashing 58 (9 fours and a six), while Faisal contributed 25. IDB replied with 80-3 through Khalid Butt 46. Naeem Shah took 2-12. Dopco Stars plundered 114-2 with Nadeem who blasted 5 sixes and 4 fours in his 65, while Shahbaz Rashid hammered 31. MQ Group scored 83-2 as Babar hit 45. APF scored 108-2 with Waqas Ausaf smashing 55. Stallions were then restricted to 36-5 as Waqas Ausaf took 2-7. Hala Gems racked up 92-2 with Moazzam scoring 51. Amer Sardar took 2-7. Marine Services replied with 73-4 as Shakeel made 30. Other winners included: Jotun Paints, Nestle Milo, Al-Safri-XI, My Care Hala Green.
