Dr. Gayas Ahmed RIYADH — The second week action in Youm Al-Watani Cup 2013 saw Alwan, Mir, Wafaq and Alabda teams register second straight wins, while Mashal and Mash recorded their first wins here recently. Playing under unusually hot sun, players played their heart out to secure points for their teams. The organizers distributed special Youm Al-Watani Cup 2013 watches among the guests and players before the start of the matches. In the first match of the day Alwan's Arab Royals got the better of Noviasat's Dammam Fighters. Electing to bat first, Royals made 188-8, thanks to Aftab who hit 78 (off 28 balls with 7 sixes and 6 fours) and Salah 24. Essam and Asif took 3 wickets each, while Sayeed claimed two. Noviasat's team lost 2 wickets early and could not recover. Although Sayeed played with a valiant innings of 66 (off 19 balls with 9x6 and 1x4), but Ismail's fine bowling (4-37) nailed the match in favor of Royals by 41 runs. Adnan took 2-7. Ismail claimed the Player-of-the-Match award. The second match saw Mir's Saudi Stallion beat GK's Jeddah Jockeys by 72 runs. Batting first, Saudi Stallion made 243-7 in 16 overs and then restricted Jeddah Jockeys to 172-9. Mir's main scorers were Sufiyan 66 (7 sixes and 3 fours), Asad 57 (3x6, 5x4) and Irfan 30. Afzal and Jameel took 2 wickets each. GK's Jameel hit 36 (5x6, 1x4), while Masood added 29. Irfan, Rahil, Azhar and Asad shared 8 wickets for the Mir's team. Asad of Saudi Stallion clinched the Player-of-the-Match award. The third match was a thriller, which Mashal's Jubail Jaguars clinched on the penultimate ball over Hilton's Hail Heroes with one wicket in hand. After scoring 158-6, Hilton had the game well in its grip till the 14th over, but gave away too many runs in the end and lost the game. For Hilton contributions came from Shabaz (42 — 5x6, 2x4) and Sajjad (41 — 4x6,2x4). Mubasshir took 3-14. Fareed 37 and Yusuf 35 were the main scorers for Mashal. Hafiz scalped 4-31 for Hilton. The fourth match of the day saw Alabda's Najran Jewels score a 68–run win over Mumtaz's Riyadh Ryders. Najran scored 195-6 in 16 overs. Ata hit 68 (9x6), while Gul Hayath added 43, Naqeeb 30 and Bashir 28. Ahmed claimed 3-49. In reply, Mumtaz's team was bundled out for 127 in 15.1 overs. Asfaq with 21 was the only prominent batsman. Imran bowled beautifully to claim 5-44. Ata won the Player-of-the-Match award. The fifth outing saw Mash's Gizan Gladiators secure a 3-wicket win over Delta's Tabuk Titans. Electing to bat first, Deltas made 174-9. Irshad 38 and Shakeel 29 were among the score. Shehazad 4-27 and Atta 2-17 were the main wicket-takers. Delta's Shanker, Imtiaz and Irfan Cheema shared 6 wickets. A spectacular one-handed catch by wicketkeeper Asghar saw him injure his jaw. Defiant knocks by Mansoor (67) and Attaullah 47 coasted Gizan Gladiators to victory. Ataullah won the Player-of-the-Match honors. In the last match of the day, Wafaq's Yanbu Warriors earned a 90-run win over Abad's Abha Avians. Wafaq's made 211-7 in 16 overs. Irfan (71) and Khuram Shehzad (65) were the main scorers. Chakla and Subash took 3 and 2 wickets, respectively. Wafaq's bowlers, captain Kasif (3-29), Akbar (2-4), Zaki (2-21), Amer (2-26) bundled out the opponents for 121 in 15 overs. Irfan was named the Player-of-the-Match.
