Rahat Ali Chaudhry RIYADH — Ibrahim and Ajaz claimed five wickets each as Sikandar Farooqi Memorial T20 Tournament being organized by Riyadh Cricket League kicked off here recently. The tournament, being managed by Saudi Cricket Centre at regional level, is named after the late Sikandar Farooqi, one of the pioneers of cricket in Dammam. Six matches were played in the first round as Khatkal beat Gujranwala, Cricket Samarwa defeated Black Caps, Super CC downed Mughal, Diamond CC beat Kashmir Press, Cricketers won against Maestro and Ever Green 6ers defeated Pakhtoonkhawa.
Bhatkal beat Gujranwala by 71 runs. Batting first, Bhatkal set a target of 191. Khaleel made 24, Tahoor 25 and Haneef 26. Pathan, Kamran and Abdul Rahman of Gujranwala took 2 wickets each, while Ashraf and Omar took a wicket each. In reply, Gujranwala was bowled out for 119. Usman Ashraf and Dastageer played confidently for their 34 and 27 runs. Ibrahim, named Man-of-the-Match, took 5 wickets, while Safwan took 2 and Madani and Haneef claimed one each. Cricket Samarwa defeated Black Caps by 7 wickets. Batting first, Black Caps made 172 in 20 overs. Bilal Khursheed was in good form and hit 62 (8 boundaries and a six). He was well-supported by Sana Khan and Abid, who added 29 each. Abubakar of Samarwa bowled well and took 3 wickets, while Aasif Sheikh and Shoaib took 1 each. In reply, Samarwa achieved the target in 16 overs. Abubakar, the Man-of-the-Match, scored 64 not out (8 fours). Aasif Sheikh remained unbeaten on 52, while Amir added 25 and Waseem 22. Bilal and Zeeshan took one wicket each. Super CC beat Mughal CC by 10 runs. Batting first, Super made 172. Noman (Man-of-the-Match) scored 78 (15 boundaries), Khawar 29, while Babar Mirza added 15. Imran took 3 wickets, while Sajjad and Shah took 2 wickets each. In reply, Mughal was bowled out for 162. Azeem was the only batsman to have played with confidence. He scored 65. Babar Mirza took 3 wickets, while Hamid and Feroz bagged 2 each. Diamond CC edged Kashmir Press CC by 5 wickets. Batting first, Kashmir Press was bowled out for 141. Shabab hit 31, Nazar 19 and Zafar 14. Mohammed Ajaz Hussain claimed 5 wickets, while Ibrahim, Ateeq and Khawaja bagged a wicket each. Diamond, in reply, reached the target in 17 overs. Khaja Raziuddin scored 57 runs, while Omer added 13 and Ateeq 14. Danish claimed 2 wickets. Mohammed Aijaz of Diamond CC was declared the Man-of-the-Match. Cricketers CC beat Maestro CC by 22 runs. Batting first, Cricketers put on 163. Zeeshan Shah scored 53, Abdul Waheed 34, Salman 25 and Shafiq 20. Imran Shaikh took 4 wickets, while Feroz Khan, Ashfaque Qureshi, Tarek Shareef and Hashir Curtay bagged one each. In reply, Maestro was bowled out for 141. Barkat Haidri hit 32. Abdul Waheed took 3 wickets, while Zeeshan Shah bagged 2. Zeeshan Khan of Cricketers was declared the Man-of-the-Match. Ever Green 6ers beat Pakhtoonkhawa by 5 wickets. Batting first, Pakhtoonkhawa scored 176. Ever Green achieved the target in 18 overs. Taj Khan hit 45, while Khawar Malik added 58, Adil 24 and Fayyaz Cheema 15. Munir took 2 wickets, while Arshad, Khalid and Haroon took one wicket each. Khawar Malik of Ever Green 6ers was declared the Man-of-the-Match.
