RIYADH — A splendid century by Azeem and fine bowling (6-11) by Aftabul Islam were the highlights of the first week's action from the new RCL Static Zone T20 Cup here recently. In all 28 teams are taking part in the tournament. They are divided into three groups — Super, Premier-I and Premier-II. The tourney is being played on round-robin-league basis and is sponsored by Static Zone Company, while Riyadh Cricket League (RCL) is managing it. Warriors got the better of Royal Fighters by 2 wickets. Batting first, Royal Fighters scored 154. Saad hit 42, while Ameen added 23. Mazher claimed 3 wickets, while Mohammed and Fairoz took 2 each. In reply, Warriors achieved the target in 18 overs. Zahir Uddin and Taher provided an opening stand of 56. Zahir Uddin added 36, Tahir 33 and Mazhar Uddin 22. Ali took 3 wickets. Man of the Match: Mazher Uddin. The second match saw Flynas Avengers beat Pak Cricket Club by 52 runs. Taking the strike first, Flynas put on 225. Zafar played a magnificent innings of 71 with the help of 11 boundaries and a six. Osman hit 44, Junaid 34 and Nazeer 32. Danish and Kabeer took 2 wickets each. Pak, in reply, was bowled out for 173. Danish scored 31 runs and Talal 38. Wajahat's 51 runs gave some hope to the team, but it was too little too late. Nazar took 4 wickets, while Junaid bagged 2. Man of the Match: Zafar.
Al-Fateh defeated Maestro by 81 runs in the third match. Al-Fateh set its rival a target of 201. Asif scored 69, Azhar 36, Waqas 32, Shajjiuddin 29 and Sanaullah 20. Ashfaque Qureshi took 2 wickets, while Feroz Khan, Imran and Umar Bashir claimed a wicket each. In reply, Maestro could score only 119. Kalandar Hamad scored 23, while Feroz Khan, Kasim and Ashfaque Qureshi scored 18 each. Shajji and Abbas claimed 2 wickets each while Asif and Safwan took 1 each. Man of the Match: Asif. The fourth match saw Chanar-XI got the better of Deccan Stars by 8 wickets. Batting first, Deccan Stars scored 141. Saleem scored 47, while Akbar hit 30. Zibran took 3 wickets, while Tariq, Abid and Hidayat claimed 2 each. In reply, Chanar reached the target easily. Jawad scored 47, Ejaz 28 and Barakat 18. Bashar and Farooq took 1 wicket each. Man of the Match: Jawad.Insaf thrashed Kashmir Press by 5 wickets. Kashmir Press was al out for 83. Aftabul Islam ran through the Kashmir Press lineup claiming 6 wickets for 11 runs. Waqar took 2. In reply, Insaf was home in 12.1 overs. Ahmed Alvi scored 29, Mateen 21 and Zeeshan 14. Man of the Match: Aftabul Islam. In the fifth match, Game Pro humbled Mughal by 3 wickets. Mughal put on 215 runs. Zubair hit 54, Aleem 45 and Zahid 44. Imran picked up 3 wickets. In reply, Game Pro achieved the target on last ball. Mohammed Hussain played a solid innings of 59, Dilshad added 63 and Mehboob 34. Zuhaib took 3 wickets, While Zubair and Waqar Bajwa bagged 2 each. Man of the Match: Dilshad. The sixth and the last match saw National get the better of Cricketers by 62 runs. National scored 215 runs. Salman and Azeem provided a good opening start of 135. Azeem was in good touch and hit a splendid century (100). Salam added 60 and Abdul Samad 36. Irfan took 2 wickets, while Fahad claimed 1. In reply, Cricketers were bundled out for 153. Adnan scored 41 and Ahmed 28. Azeem claimed 3 wickets and Salman 2. Man of the Match: Azeem. — SG
