JEDDAH: F&A United emerged champions in the fourth Zahid Premier League (ZPL) when they got the better of Altaaq by 47 runs in the final held here recently.

At the opening ceremony, Dr. Zico highlighted the importance of time keeping in every aspect of life, as well as the importance of respect for others.

This season was extremely competitive and all teams played exceptionally well, but the most notable performance was when Altaf from the Wared Warriors scored a century against ZTG.

The four teams to reach the semifinals were F&A United, Altaaqa, ZG United and Wared Warriors. In the first semifinal match, F&A had an easy win over Wared Warriors, reaching the finals for the third season in a row. F&A scored 120 for 6 in 12 overs and Wared managed only 94 for 8 off 12 overs. Abdul Rahman and Hafeez were the top scorers for F&A with 34 and 25 respectively.

The semifinal match between Altaaqa and ZG United was a thriller and it was the very last ball that determined Altaaqa would advance to the final for the second year in a row. ZG United scored 93 for 7 off 12 overs, while Altaaqa scored 94 for 8 after 12 overs.

Top scorers were ZG United’s Omer and Moiz with 18 and 20 respectively, and Altaaqa’s Farouk and Asad with 25 and 20 respectively. Only 10 runs were required in the last over but Abbas bowled superbly, giving 5 runs in 5 balls. Despite 2 dropped catches and 5 required on the last ball, Altaaqa got a wide ball and they ran 4 to get the victory on the last ball.

The final match began with Altaaqa’s Faizan getting two wickets, followed by F&A’s skipper, Hammad, who scored 65 runs. Altaaqa managed 122 for 4 off 14 overs. The leading scorers were Kamran with 20 runs, Imran Shahid 24 runs and Asad 23 runs. However, with support from Imran Mehmoud with 53 runs, F&A ended with a total of 169 runs off 14 overs and were the champions for the third consecutive year.

Hammad, Nadeem, Hafeez and Baber all demonstrated great performances for F&A, and Hammad was declared Man of the Final.

Umpires Kumar Krishnan and S. Azam Jalees supervised the final match. In attendance were Zahid Group Vice President of Group Affairs, Amr Khashoggi; Managing Director of Altaaqa, Emad Mukhalalaty; Corporate Consultant, Dr. Z. K. Raychouni; and other senior management and managers including Ghazanfar Ali, Eyad El Sharif, Hassan Khalil and Iftekar Khan.

Following the final was a ceremony where awards were given to the teams, umpires and committee members for individual performances. Hammad Ahmed (F&A) received Man of the Final; Azeez Akbar (CVD) received Best Batsman; Imran Sher (CVD) received Best Bowler; Altaf (Wared) received Centurion; Omar Hanif (ZG United) received Best All Rounder; Imran Mahmoud (F&A) received Man of the Tournament; Kamran (Altaaqa) received Maximum Sixes; Mr. Altaf (TAMGO Falcons) received Fair Play; and Mr. Fayez Sheikh received Best Umpire.