JEDDAH: The inaugural Inter-Institution cricket tournament got off to a flying start as Qatar Airways grounded Etihad Airlines by 35 runs while in the other match Al-Rajhi Aviation routed Emirates Airlines by nine wickets at IDB’s Green Lawn’s round, here.

Five teams — Emirates Airlines, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airlines, Al-Rajhi Aviation and IDB Group — are taking part in this tourney organized by the Islamic Development Bank Group, hosted by the bank’s cultural society (SOCOM) and sponsored by IDB’s GBEST.

During the inaugural ceremony, Dr. Ahmed Tiktik, vice president of the IDB Group expressed his best wishes to all participating teams and also the management’s support for the event.

Abdallah Baghdadi, head of GBEST, said that, “Though being a Saudi, Cricket is his passion and is a keen follower of the game”. All five team managers were present for the opening ceremony.

In the first match, Qatar Airways got the better of Etihad Airlines by 35 runs while Al-Rajhi Aviation routed Emirates Airlines by nine wickets.

Qatar Airways posted 131 for 7 off 12 overs. Ibadur Rahman top scored with 55 runs supported by Ebad (16) and Saad (14). In reply Etihad managed 96 runs. Sufiyan was the lone batsman who put up a fight and scored 25 runs. None of the other batsmen could reach double figures. Rahman ripped through the rival batting line-up and claimed 4 wickets. Ahsan got 2.

Man-of-the-Match: Ibadur Rahman

In the other match, Emirates made first use of the track after they won the toss and put up a total of 77 runs. Mazhar (22) and Shahrukh (14) were the only batsmen who made an impression. Enam bagged 2 wickets.

In reply, Al-Rajhi got the required runs without losing any wicket. Zishan (39) and Razi (21) eased their team to victory.

Man-of-the-Match: Zishan.