RIYADH, 7 March 2007 — Manarat Al Riyadh won their semifinal in style against Jawaher International School in the Arab News Cup Inter-school Under-19 cricket tournament
Manarat take on Pakistan International School (Naseriya) in the final match tomorrow.
The Under-14 championship match features Indian International Public School against Pakistan International School.
The tournament is organized by Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) and the matches are played on its own grounds in Sulay area.
At RCA-1 ground, Jawaher International School (JIS) elected to bat after winning the toss , but the decision to bat first backfired as Mohsin Baksh with his deadly spell mesmerized the Jawaher boys. He never allowed the JIS batsmen to settle down and completed a hat trick for the second time in this tournament by recording 4 for 13. Baksh is a Saudi national participating in this tournament. Ismail Khan gave ample support with his bowling figures of 3 for 17 runs. For JIS captain Hassan Javed and Omar fought well to take their team’s score to 149 runs before being bowled out in the 18th over.
For Manarath, their most consistent batsman Sameed Lodhi continued his good work as he made a strokeful 43 runs with the aid of 6 fours. Hassan Razi (38 runs) and Sultan ul Haq Mirza (26 runs) contributed to the total and eventual easy victory for the Manarath Al Riyadh School. Baksh was named Man of the Match.
At RCA-2 ground, Pakistan International School (Naseriya) overcame a resilient Sri Lankan International School team to win by 8 wickets and reach the U-19 finals.
Batting first, the SLIS boys compiled a moderate score of 159 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Mohammed Masood missed by one run a well deserved half century. He was well supported by Prabhudah Ranasinghe who made a valuable 47 runs. For PIS Hassan Atiq took 3 for 18 and Rizwan Manzoor took 2 for 20.
The PIS batsmen reached their target in the 18th over, but not before some tight bowling by the SLIS bowlers. Rizwan Manzoor as usual was in tremendous form as he smashed a well made 60 runs with 8 fours. Skipper Amer Thrombo then contributed a valuable 54 runs to take PIS to victory. For SLIS Omar Masood took 2 wickets for 30 runs.
Rizwan Manzoor of PIS was declared Man of the Match.
In the Under-14, the Indian International Public School (IIPS) trounced Delhi Public School (DPS) by 5 wickets to reach the finals.
Batting first the DPS batsmen made a healthy total of 164 runs in their allotted 20 overs. M.Omar was in scintillating form as he remained unbeaten on 65 runs. His knock contained 10 boundaries. M.Aamer gave good support by making a valuable 34 runs with 4 boundaries. For IIPS M.Rasheed bowled well to take 3 wickets giving away 20 runs.
The IIPS batsmen were made to struggle to reach the target with only 2 balls to spare. Sharang Bharadwaj continued his good form as he cracked another half century with the help of 4 boundaries. Mohammed Rasheed continued his good work with the batting also as he played a crucial knock of 46 runs to take the IIPS to victory. For DPS Aamer and Omar took two wickets each. Mohammad Rasheed was declared Man of the Match for his all-round display.
In the second U-14 semifinal, Pakistan International School (Naseriya) routed Al Iqbal School (AIS) by a huge margin of 107 runs. PIS took the first strike and made mincemeat of the helpless AIS bowlers. Abdul Qadeer was in smashing form as he made 62 runs which was decorated with 7 hits to the fence. Abdul Salam then made a quickfire 53 runs including 8 boundaries. Saleem Cheema chipped in with 27 runs. For AIS Adil bowled well for his 2 for 39 runs.
The AIS boys were unable to cope with the disciplined bowling of all PIS bowlers and were bowled out for a paltry 74 runs. Bilawal Hanif waged a lone battle by making 30 runs with the help of 2 fours. For PIS Shiraz Shafique bowled a deadly spell to finish match figures of 4 for 17 runs. Barkat Ali and Shabbir Ahmed snared two wickets each.
Abdul Qadeer of PIS was declared Man of the Match.
