JEDDAH — Superb 50s by Qamar Abbas of Elaf and Amir of Rising Stars lit up the opening day of UPL Super Cup 2015 here recently. The United Premier League (UPL) is organizing the prestigious 8-over championship. The teams taking part in the tournament are: Lothers, Elaf, Rising Stars, Target Guys, ATS, Al Max, Challengers, Tech Yorkers, IOE and Jeddah Indians. The teams are divided into two groups, which will play on cross-group basis with the top two teams from each group qualifying for the semifinals. In the opening match, Elaf enjoyed a crushing win over Lothers. The stage was set for a massive total as Qamar Abbas of Elaf hammered 60 off 28 balls. The sparkling innings led to a total of 106 in 8 overs. Furqan added 20 off 10 balls. Shibu, Khuram and Farshat snatched one wicket each. Chasing the target, Lothers was bundled out for 48. Only Shibu (15) and Mazhar (12) scored into double digits. Amjad and Adnan Liaqat did most of the damage by taking 3 wickets apiece. Elsewhere, Al Max beat Jeddah Indians by 29 runs. Al Max put on 85 runs for 4 wickets. Akram and Fayaz stroked 23 each, while Murukesh remained unbeaten on 15. Hassam took 2-14. In response, Jeddah Indians could score only 55 as Nazeem offered some resistance with his 24. Zaheer and Sudha were the pick of bowlers claiming 2 wickets apiece. The third match saw IOE score 97 for 8 against Target Guys. Ghaffar was the highest contributor with 25. Nawaz and Raj scored 20 and 18, respectively. Shahnawaz of Target Guys claimed the first hat trick of the tournament by snatching 4-7. Target Guys lost 7 wickets to score a mere 67 runs. Its star batsman Zawahir struggled to muster 25, while Zain added 20. Abdul Razaq and Saleh Nawaz took 3 wickets apiece. In another encounter, tidy bowling and fielding helped ATS down Tec Yorkers. ATS scored 75 with contributions from Waqas (27) and Zubair (19). Rishan picked 2-12. In reply, Inzam and Waseem scored 30 and 26, respectively, but Muneer's 2-4 effort restricted Tec Yorker to 67. Tahir and Waqas grabbed 1 wicket each. Rising Stars posted an easy victory against Challengers in the last match of the night. Taking the strike first, Rising Stars put on 107. Amir hammered 50 in 17 balls and Rifaqat 20. Abdullah, Yaqoob, Naoshad and Bashir captured 1 wickets apiece. In reply, Badru (26) went on a rampage with his partner Bashir (19). Challengers lost 6 quick wickets after the departure of both the batsmen as Tanveer of Rising Stars claimed the second hat trick of the tournament. Qaisar and Hashim claimed 1 wicket each.
