JEDDAH: Deccan Knights will cross swords with Jawara Al Jazirah in the final of the JCA Premier League sponsored by Ace Travels & Tours.

In the semifinals Deccan Knights edged past Kanoo by 14 runs while Jawar Al Jazirah got the better of ICC Irfan Basha by 5 wickets

Deccan Knights amassed 216 for 6 after they won the toss and elected to bat. They were off to a bad start as prolific scorer Sohail was back into the dressing room bowled by Mansoor. Najeeb (38) and Athar’s (match winning 76) 69-run partnership for the 2nd wicket proved to be the game changer. Afroz gave him good support and chipped in with an unbeaten 45 runs.

For Kanoo, Sami and Rafay got 2 wickets each for 45 and 43 runs respectively.

In reply Kanoo made a disastrous start and lost openers Tabrez and Rashid for 11 runs. Arshad (64) and Sami (40) batted sensibly and were involved in a 105-run partnership.

Later, Najam hit a quick fire 29 and along with skipper Majid took Kanoo close to the target. But Rabbani turned the tide for his team and took 4 wickets in the final over including a hat trick, which took the match away from Kanoo.

Rabbani had impressive figures of 4 for 47 while Sohail and Afroz claimed 2 each for 39 and 22 runs respectively.

In the other semifinal, ICC Irfan Basha managed 158 for 8 in their allotted overs. Azhar and Irfan were off to a slow start and were soon dismissed cheaply for 13 runs each. Both were victims of Adnan’s accurate bowling. Rana Shahzad contributed 36 runs, which included 5 fours. Umar (40) and Kashif (21) remained unbeaten.

Adnan, Zahid and Shan claimed 2 wickets each for 25, 33 and 44 runs respectively.

In pursuit of 159 runs for victory, Jawar Al-Jazirah lost Asim when the score was 18. Shan (50) and Amer (41) put on 70 runs for the 2nd wicket and took the total to 88. Later, Adel contributed a quick 23 and took his team close to victory. Tariq and Sajid (17 not out) ensured no further hiccups as Jawar Al-Jazirah reached their target for the loss of 5 wickets. Irfan claimed 2 wickets for 48 runs.