Unbeaten MCH reigns in WPCA Premier League, makes it three in a row

JEDDAH: My Care Hala proved that they are the team to beat when they were crowned the Western Province Cricket Association Premier League champions for the third year in a row.
Powered by Tariq Mehmood’s gritty 50 and Nasir Khan’s hat trick MCH got the better of Dopco Stars by 4 wickets.
In the Morning League semifinals, Crown Blue downed New Young Stars by 23 runs while ALJ Toyota defeated Brasa de Brazil by 3 wickets to enter the final.
Al Safri, Limitless, APF and AOT Youngsters made it to the semifinals of the Afternoon League.
Dopco Stars were off to a flying start though Nadeem (51) and Afaq (40) were looking for a huge total. However, it was not to be, as Nasir Khan struck in quick succession and bagged three wickets in his third over.
He was supported by Faheem Afrad 2 for 25 to reduce Dopco Stars to 137 for 8. Later,
Shahbaz Rasheed played a captain’s knock of 46 to take his team’s total to a reasonable 172. Nasir Khan took 4 for 35, Tariq 2 for 22 and Amjed 2 for 21.
MCH started with all guns blazing as Qamar Abbas (27) and Moazzam Shoukat (29) but were soon reeling at 69 for 3 MCH and looked to have lost their way. However, Tariq Mehmood steadied the rocking boat and steadied the inning with an unbeaten 53 off 39 balls. He first added 56 with Babar (37) and then continued partnerships with Amjed (13) and Faheem Afrad (13) to achieve the victory target of 176 with four wickets in hand.
Arshad Chouhan and Imran officiated as umpires.
Man-of-the-Final: Tariq Mehmood

In the Moring semis, Crown Blue lost early wickets and were tottering at one stage at 103 for 6. Later, Saleem Mehar compiled 44 off 29 balls to get to a defendable 178. Earlier Anwaar Chand scored 25 and Saqib Butt 31. Adnan claimed 3 for 28 and Shabab 2 for 33.
New Young Stars chasing were in command at one stage at 140 for 5. Bilal (51) and Shafi (20) were the main runs getters. Anwaar Chand 3 for 27, Junaid 2 for 11 and Zahoor 2 for 30 did most of the damage and restricted their opponents to 155 as they lost their last 5 wickets for 15 runs.
In the other semi, Brasa De Brazil posted 165 for 5. Farid Afridi (28), Bilal (38) and Zaman (36) were the main contributors. Imran Rana got 2 for 26. ALJ Toyota achieved 166 for 7. Tanveer Zamane (30), Zahid (36) and Farhan (24) helped their team enter the final. Sajid claimed 3 for 24 and Bilal 2 for 36.
In the Afternoon quarterfinals, Al-Safri trounced Lothers by 7 wickets, Limitless defeated My Care Hala Academy White by a similar margin, AOT Youngsters ousted Jotun Pains by 6 wickets and Asian Plastic Factory made short work of Marine Services by 8 wickets.
Brief scores: Lothers 168 for 7: (Yasir 35, Khurram 41, Mushtaq 20, Nabeel 20; Manjeet Kumar 3 for 24, Muneeb 2 for 29) lost to Al-Safri 169: (Manjeet Kumar 51 n.o, Zafar 44 n.o, Saeed 26; Yasir 2 for 35) by 7 wkts.
Hala White 195 for 5: (Furqan 53, Jahanzeb 36, Munawwar 40 n.o, Anas Malik 26; Maqsood 2 for 35) lost to Limitless 198 for 3: (Amir 67, Ali Nawaz 59, Talha 39) by 7 wkts.
Jotun Paints 141 for 6: (Shafeeq 28, Shafiq Siddiqui 31; Qaim Khan 2 for 28, Pervez Baig 2 for 19) lost to AOT Youngsters 143 for 4: (Nadeem 50, Pervez Baig 48 n.o, Ghulam Malik 20) by 6 wkts.
Marine Services 167 for 9: (Yaseen 38 n.o, Shakeel 33, Naseer 20; Azam 3 for 23, Imran 2 for 32) lost to APF 168 for 2: (Maqsood 89 n.o, Tauseef 58) by 8 wkts.