Dr. Sayed Ziauddin JEDDAH — My Care Hala's Qamar Abbas' magnificent 172 against Crown Steel was the highlight of the WPCA Premier League, sponsored by Hyundai Naghi Motors, here recently. In other matches, Al-Saudi-XI defeated IDB by 22 runs and Dopco Stars downed AOT. My Care Hala opted to bat first against Crown Steel. Qamar Abbas smashed 13 hits to the ropes and 14 sixes to compile an unbeaten 172 in just 62 balls. Moazzam Shoukat stroked 28 and Amir Sajjad 24 to pile up a mammoth 256-3 in 120 balls. Murtuza took 1-23, Ijaz Sagheer Mitha 1-29 and Shafeeq 1-45. Crown Steel, chasing this huge target requiring 13 runs per over, lost wickets early and was tottering at 43-4. Then after a brief partnership between Tasleem (22) and Waqas (40) the steelmen lost wickets in a heap to close at 123-9 and lose by 133 runs. Skipper Shafeeq made 24. Husain Bhatti grabbed 4-13, Imran Yusuf Gullu 3-35 and Faheem 2-30. Al-Saudi-XI elected to bat first against Islamic Development Bank (IDB). Nadeem Saad Al-Nadwi made 43, while Javed Iqbal hammered 58 in 31 balls with 6 fours and a six. They added 94 runs in 48 balls. Khalid scored 37. Farooq took 1-33, Babar 1-38, Khalid Butt 1-26 and Nasir 1-20. In reply, IDB lost wickets at regular intervals to be all out for 163 and lose by 22 runs. Farook hit 44, Ijaz 23 and Adeel 38. Amjad grabbed 4-51, Mazhar Abbasi 3-23, Nadeem Saad 2-30 and Khalid 1-16. AOT, opting to bat first against Dopco Stars, was restricted to 138-8 as Amer Siddiqui hammered 48, while Zeeshan made 25 as other batsmen just failed against consistent bowling by Khurram (2-38), Wahid Khan (2-14), Shoaib Ali (2-28), Hassan (1-28) and Asim (1-30). Naeem Shah made 19. Dopco Stars, chasing this moderate target, was home in 64 balls, making 144-2. Maqsood blasted 68 in 29 balls with 7 fours and 5 sixes, while Ajmal Khan blasted an unbeaten 57 in 28 balls with 4 fours and 4 sixes. They added 104 for the second wicket in just 51 balls. Faiq Habeeb took 1-14 and Qaiser Lateef 1-22. In the previous week's matches, skipper Shafeeq and Murtuza of Crown Steel excelled with the bat to win against Pepsi Deccan Knights, Al-Saudi-XI was humbled by APF and Dopco Stars beat Usman Gems.
