RIYDAH — Pakistan International School Riyadh-Nasriya (PISR-N) and International Indian School Riyadh-A (IISR-A) reached the U-19 Saudi Gazette Inter-School Cricket tournament final following easy wins in their semifinals here recently. The tournament is sponsored by Saudi Gazette and played under the auspices of Saudi Cricket Centre, while Riyadh Cricket League (RCL) is organizing the matches. IISR-A beat Pakistan International School Riyadh-English Section (PISR-ES) in the first semifinal by 9 wickets. Batting first, PISR-ES could score only 54 runs. Athar (17) and Shayan (12) were the top scorers. No other batsman could play with confidence. Mukul took 3 wickets, while Aiman and Naveed claimed 2 each. In reply, IISR-A achieved the total for the loss of one wicket off 11 overs. Abdul Rehman scored 24 and Mukul added 17. Athar claimed 1 wicket. Mukul was named Man-of-the-Match. The second semifinal saw PISR-N beat Indian International School Riyadh-B (IISR-B) by 9 wickets. Batting first, IISR-B was bowled out for 39 runs. Maria and Majid were the only batsmen who reached double figures. Maria made 11 and Majid 14. Yasir Naseer was the wrecker-in-chief and bagged 5 wickets, including a hat trick. Anas claimed 3 wickets for 6 runs, while Omar took 1. In reply, PISR-N achieved the target for the loss of one wicket off 5.2 overs. Faisal remained unbeaten on 27. Mazin took the lone wicket that fell. Yasir was declared Man-of-the-Match. A presentation ceremony took place at the ground, where RCL Coordinator Tariq Butt, PISR-N Manager Raja Tanveer and PISR-N Coach Ali Kamran handed Yasir the Man-of-the-Match trophy. One match was also played in the U-16 category, where IISR-A beat Middle East International School (MEIS) by 98 runs. Batting first, IISR-A put on 234 runs. Aakefin (56), Sohail (53) and Mukal (70) were among the runs. Rohit bowled well and took 3 wickets, while Junaid took 1. In reply, MEIS was restricted to 136 runs. Zohair (29), Razi (22) and Faris (19) were the top batsmen. Irfan bowled well to claim 4 wickets, while Saud, Mukul and Easa claimed 1 each. Irfan was named Man-of-the-Match. — SG
