JEDDAH — Huta, ECU Lines, Ittihad and Jamoom Fighters got off to a flying start in the Jotun League, scoring convincing wins over their respective opponents. Huta plucked the bud out of Blossom with an impressive 62-run win, ECU Lines struggled but eventually beat champion Eirad Travels by 4 wickets, Ittihad recorded an 8-wicket win over Pak Young and Jamoom Fighters trounced KAIA by 77 runs. Jotun Paints Morning League, which is being organized by the Jeddah Cricket Association (JCA), is sponsored for the 6th year in succession by Jotun Saudia Company Ltd. Huta beat Blossom by 62 runs. Huta, batting first, amassed 203-6. Tahir played a blazing knock of 62 off 27 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes. He was supported by Rizwan (37) and Manzar (48 off 28 — 3 fours, 2 sixes). Shahab (3-40) and Abdul Raheem (2-40) prevented them from accelerating further. In reply, Blossom batsmen could not cope with the accurate bowling of Irfan who grabbed 4-28. Naveed, Waseem and Tahir claimed one wicket each to bundle Blossom out for 142 with Babu being the lone fighter (25). ECU Lines defeated Eirad Travels by 4 wickets. Eirad Travels was bowled out for a paltry 126 as Manzoor (3-18) and Omar (3 -15) bowled effectively in tandem. Shad Khan (14), Abdulrehman (12), Riaz (18) and Zakir (14) were the only ones to reach double figures. In reply, ECU Lines struggled initially but thanks to Omar who scored 62 off 25 balls with 10 fours and 3 sixes to ensure that his team reached 126-6. Riaz claimed 2-26, while Shad, Abdul Rahman and Zakir took one wicket each. Ittihad beat Pak Young by 8 wickets. Pak Young was shot out for a meager 99 as Ittihad bowlers Fahad, Sikandar, Jamil and Nasir made it tough for it with Asad Nabi (24) being the lone fighter. In reply, Ittihad knocked off the required runs (101-2) through Azam (58 off 22 — 7 fours, 4 sixes) and Mubeen (38 off 14 — 4 fours, 3 sixes). Mazhar chipped in with 2-12. Jamoom Fighter trounced KAIA by 77 runs. Jamoom Fighters raced to an imposing total of 234-3. Abdul Malik laid a solid foundation with an unbeaten 117 off 46 balls. He thrashed the KAIA bowlers all over with 11 sixes and 7 fours. He got good support from Naeem (50 — 9 fours, 5 sixes). Ahsan and Abdullah were the wicket-takers with one each. In reply, KAIA was bundled out for 163 as Usman, Saeed and Waseem picked up 3 wickets each for 30, 33 and 24 runs, respectively. For KAIA, Abdullah was the top scorer (45 — 5 fours, 2 sixes), followed by Fahad (19).
