RIYADH: A record unbeaten 258-run partnership between Aftab and Shahzad enabled Nouman Gymkhana rout Bangla by 94 runs in the fifth round of the American Express Twenty20 cricket tournament, organized by the Riyadh Cricket Association, here.

Nouman Gymkhana batted first and put up a score of 291 for 2. Aftab and Shahzad remained not out on 131 and 110 respectively. Green Bangla in reply scored 197 for 9. Amir (37), Amirul (35), Mahbub (30), Tuhin (28) and Zakir (22) tried to make a fight of it. Aftab picked 3 wickets and Mubashir 2.

In a closely-fought encounter, King Faisal Specialist Hospital edged past Saudi Jaguars by 2 wickets.

Saudi Jaguars elected to bat first were all out for 145. Spinner Jabbir Hussain wrecked and Jaguars and picked 5 for 25. Hilal and Farhan were the only batsmen who spent sometime at the wicket and scored 70 and 29 runs respectively. Chasing a relatively modest target, KFSH Blues lost wickets at regular intervals, but at the end achieved the target after 16.2 overs. Ayaz (33) and Irshad (26) were the main scorers. Khaksar and Owais picked 3 and 2 wickets respectively. In another close match, Shouraim beat CKK by 14 runs. Shouraim posted a formidable total of 228. Amin Bakhti (51), Azam (50), Mudassar (50), Waqas (32) and Rizwan (29) were among the runs. Kashif picked 2 wickets. CKK in reply managed 214. Sisam top-scored with 87 and Kashif got 21. Rizwan bagged 3 wickets while Abbas got 2.

Brief Scores

Huraymala League: AKCC 194 for 7: (Nadeem 43, Kamran 42, Sajjad 37; Imran Younes 4 wkts) beat Riyadh Fighters 177 for 8: (Imran Younes 65, Arshad 38; Kamal 3, Kamran 2 wkts) by 17 runs. Pak Force 184 for 4: (Mohsin 58, Faisal 43, Rizwan 36) beat Tigers 134: (Faisal 4, Aizaz 3, Ilyas 2 wkts) by 50 runs. Indian Strikers 166: (Prashanth 58; Abdulrahim 3 wkts and Shakeel 2 wkts) lost to Riyadh Warriors 167 for no loss off 13.1 overs (Asif 77, Abdulaziz 64) by 10 wkts. FUCHS 99 (Javed 28, Tahir and Safdar 3 wkts each, Farooq & Ubaid 2 wkts each) lost to KFSH Green 102 for 4 off 13.3 overs: (Ubaid 40; Shoaib & Javed 1 wkt each) by 6 wkts.

Hayer League: Thales 214: (Santosh 45, Shahid 40, Aziz 39, Abid 37; Arshad & Ahmed 2 wkts each) beat Riyadh Royals 177: (Fakhar 104; Aziz 3, Bakhtiar 2 wkts) by 37 runs. White Star 85: (Faisal Sheikh 4, Ali 3 wkts) lost to Grundfos 89 for 1 off 12 overs: (Yassir 52) by 9 wickets. Seham 183: (Majid 51, Waseem 38, Altaf 2 wkts) beat Pak Eagles 174: by 9 runs. Rawdah Heats 155 for 8: (Zahideen & Atif 3 wkts each) lost to Lahore Badshah Green 159 for 4: (Jahangir 51, Afzal 45) by 6 wkts.

Diriyah League: Hayat Warriors 185: (Idrees 31, Zain 24, Nadeem 22; Sabzar 3 wkts) drew with Kashmir Strikers 185: (Shahbaz 49, Sabzar 44). L’usine CC 173: (Athar 3, Anis 2 wkts) beat Friends XI 99: (Haider 44) by 74 runs. Al Momen International School 167: (Mujahid 3, Ammar & Aslam 2 wkts) beat Strikers 159: (Waleed 60, Zaheer 25) by 8 runs.