JEDDAH, 14 May 2004 — Saudi Perfumes beat Red Sea Paints by 20 runs, Attar Travels defeated LG United Naghi, Tamer got the better of Afkar Promo-7 by 12 runs, Deccan Blues scored a nail-biting win against Kanoo Travels while KAIA thumped Nestle Milo by eight wickets in the 7th week Division-I matches organized by Jeddah Cricket League (JCL).
At Juffali ground, Saudi Perfumes elected to bat and prolific batsmen Abdi and Wahaj punished every bowler they faced in their record 126 runs opening partnership that boosted their team total to 189 for 7 in 20 overs, Abdi made 66 (7x4) and Wahaj scored 63 (7x4, 3x6) in his delightful innings. Khalil scored a polished 27 off 15 deliveries. Shabbir took 3 for 28 and Altaf 1 for 4 while Jabbar grabbed the prize wickets of Abdi and Wahaj. In reply, Red Sea Paints team could not withstand against the accurate bowling of SPCI team and were held to 169 for 7 in 20 overs. Jabbar made fine 51 runs and Shabbir 32, Liaqath 26, Imran 23 tried their best to reach the target. Junaid 2 for 27, Atif 2 for 28 stood out for SPCI.
At Otis ground, LG United Naghi scored 141 for 9 in 18 overs as Attar Travels bowlers Moin 4 for 28 and Aman 3 for 28 mesmerized LG. Maqbool made 47 (6x4, 1x6) in 24 balls while Abdul Rehman could make only 23. Shamim and Sayeed took one wicket each. LG were lucky in getting the prize wicket of Rayees off the first ball of Waseem but Amanullah was unbeaten on 44 (2x4, 1x6) and Abu Hassan who scored 39 as Attar achieved their victory target — 142 for 5 in 17.3 overs. Salam Amoudi 3 for 41, Waseem 1 for 20 and Assad 1 for 16 stood out
At Nestle Milo ground, Nestle Milo were restricted to 121 for 7 in 20 overs, with extras being the highest with 20 as KAIA bowlers shared the honors with Shoeb and Asif taking 2 wickets each while Lasanta, Zafar and Zameem one wicket each. In response, KAIA's opener Tahir along with the fellow left-handed batsman Zameem scored all round the ground and secured an 8 wickets victory for their team in just 14.5 overs. Tahir scored 47 runs while Zameem remain unbeaten on 45.
At Attar ground, Tamer scored 172 for 5 in 18 overs, Saleem Patel, Osman 41, Asif 28, Afrooz 19 and quickfire unbeaten 15 by Almas gave their side a fighting total to defend. Ali grabbed 2 for 21 while Azhar and Majid took one wicket each for Afkar Promo-7. For Afkar Ali 43 (6x4), Fahad 48 (6x4) and Abdul Latif 17 could not muster the required runs as they were held to 160 for 7 in 18 as Tamer won by 12 runs. Saleem Patel took 3 for 32, Sajid 2 for 37 while Ahsan Rafeh and Osman took a wicket each.
At Hempel Paints grounds, Deccan Blues won the exciting match against Kanoo Travels by 3 runs. Deccan Blues, batting first, made an imposing total of 186 for 6 in 20 overs.
The main contributors for Deccan Blues were Rohan De Silva, who made quickfire 33 (5x4) off just 14 balls, captain Abdul Aziz (Raziuddin), who made 53 (5x4) in his stylish and strokeful innings, Shoukath, who got 23 not out, Rais 21 and Quddus 14. Shamim ul Hague was the most successful bowler with 3 for 33 and Najam took 2 for 28 for Kanoo Travels.
In reply, Kanoo Travels started soundly with Rashid Khurshid scoring 30 (3x4, 2x6) quick runs, Majid the run-getting machine of Kanoo Travels hitting 56 (6x4, 3x6), Shoukath 35 (2x4, 3x6), Aleem 16 and Imran 12. But their efforts fell 3 runs short as they managed 183 for 9 in 20 overs. Anees 2 for 26, Quddus 2 for 21, Babar 2 for 22, Rohan 1 for 21 and Shoaib 1 for 43 bowled well.
