JEDDAH: The Saudi Cup kicked off with eight matches played during the first week. Twenty-seven teams are taking part in this tournament, divided into three groups, played on a league basis. The top eight teams in this Twenty20 event, sponsored by Reel & Rom and UT Lines, will qualify for the knockout stage.
In the first week matches, there were easy wins for Reel & Rom who defeated Malik XI by 25 runs, Saudi Oil routed Jamoom Fighters by 119 runs, Pak Shaheen and AJA beat their National Automobile Juffali and MCH Green by identical eight-wicket margins, Peeran XI crushed Hala International School by 143 runs, Gujarat Eagles overcame Ittihad by a narrow margin of 15 runs, Universal United edged out King Stars in a thriller by 2 wickets and Pepsi Deccan Knight beat Faisal Cricket Club by 36 runs.
Brief scores:
Reel & Rom 214: (Fareed Afridi 50, Kashif 55, Wajid 22, Bilal 22; Amir 5-39, Shabir 2-35) beat Malik XI 189 for 7: (Sami 50, Umair 31, Shabir 22; Imran 2-3, Afridi 2-24) by 25 runs.
Saudi Oil 211 for 5: (Ayaz Meer 66, Ali 44, Humayun Farooq 29; Qaisar 2-26) beat Jamoom Fighters 92: (Sarfaraz 38, Humayun 4-31, Ayaz Meer 2-28) by 119 runs.
MCH Green 120 for 9: (Rahil Subhani 53; Faisal Khan 4-19, Afzal 2-18) lost to Pak Shaheen 122 for 2 in 11.5 over: (Shaan 25, Farhat 25, Afzal 31 n.o.) by 8 wkts.
NAJ 141 for 9: (Kaifi 43, Ashfaque 22, Assad 20; Abdulrehman Khalil 4-17, Qadir 2-15) lost to AJA 142 for 2 in 13.4 overs: (Umar 44 n.o, Izhar 37, Shahid 24) by 8 wkts.
Peeran XI 308 for 5: (Ehtisham 75, Bilal Ahmed 94, Raheem 28) beat Hala International School 165 for 5: (Jawad 79) by 143 runs.
Gujrat Eagles 191 for 5 in 20: (Shahid 42, Arbab 30, Rashid 41, Mukhtar 35) beat Ittihad 176: (Mubeen 36, Fahad 25, Sajid 26, Sikandar 21; Shahid 4-25, Arbab 3-27) by 15 runs.
King Stars 206 for 8: (Yasir 41, Shoukath 47, Umair 30; Malik 3-29, Amin 2-41, Tariq 2-23) lost to Universal 207 for 8 in 19.2 overs: (Malik 35, Tariq 29, Imran 36, Ahmed 28, Zubair 3-37) by 2 wkts.
PDK 218 for 6: (Sohail 58, Akram 33, Ather 53; Rauf Lala 2-34) beat Faisal Cricket Club 182 for 6: (Afridi 33, Mohamed Hussain 40, Faisal Khan 52; Akram 2 for 1) by 36 runs.
In the first week matches, there were easy wins for Reel & Rom who defeated Malik XI by 25 runs, Saudi Oil routed Jamoom Fighters by 119 runs, Pak Shaheen and AJA beat their National Automobile Juffali and MCH Green by identical eight-wicket margins, Peeran XI crushed Hala International School by 143 runs, Gujarat Eagles overcame Ittihad by a narrow margin of 15 runs, Universal United edged out King Stars in a thriller by 2 wickets and Pepsi Deccan Knight beat Faisal Cricket Club by 36 runs.
Brief scores:
Reel & Rom 214: (Fareed Afridi 50, Kashif 55, Wajid 22, Bilal 22; Amir 5-39, Shabir 2-35) beat Malik XI 189 for 7: (Sami 50, Umair 31, Shabir 22; Imran 2-3, Afridi 2-24) by 25 runs.
Saudi Oil 211 for 5: (Ayaz Meer 66, Ali 44, Humayun Farooq 29; Qaisar 2-26) beat Jamoom Fighters 92: (Sarfaraz 38, Humayun 4-31, Ayaz Meer 2-28) by 119 runs.
MCH Green 120 for 9: (Rahil Subhani 53; Faisal Khan 4-19, Afzal 2-18) lost to Pak Shaheen 122 for 2 in 11.5 over: (Shaan 25, Farhat 25, Afzal 31 n.o.) by 8 wkts.
NAJ 141 for 9: (Kaifi 43, Ashfaque 22, Assad 20; Abdulrehman Khalil 4-17, Qadir 2-15) lost to AJA 142 for 2 in 13.4 overs: (Umar 44 n.o, Izhar 37, Shahid 24) by 8 wkts.
Peeran XI 308 for 5: (Ehtisham 75, Bilal Ahmed 94, Raheem 28) beat Hala International School 165 for 5: (Jawad 79) by 143 runs.
Gujrat Eagles 191 for 5 in 20: (Shahid 42, Arbab 30, Rashid 41, Mukhtar 35) beat Ittihad 176: (Mubeen 36, Fahad 25, Sajid 26, Sikandar 21; Shahid 4-25, Arbab 3-27) by 15 runs.
King Stars 206 for 8: (Yasir 41, Shoukath 47, Umair 30; Malik 3-29, Amin 2-41, Tariq 2-23) lost to Universal 207 for 8 in 19.2 overs: (Malik 35, Tariq 29, Imran 36, Ahmed 28, Zubair 3-37) by 2 wkts.
PDK 218 for 6: (Sohail 58, Akram 33, Ather 53; Rauf Lala 2-34) beat Faisal Cricket Club 182 for 6: (Afridi 33, Mohamed Hussain 40, Faisal Khan 52; Akram 2 for 1) by 36 runs.
