DAMMAM — Al-Sehan Karachi Strikers shocked favorite Khan XI by 1 wicket and topped the table in the Al-Turki main league First Division of the EPCA Championshop. Batting first, as usual Khan XI openers Murad and Faiz started the innings in a whirlwind fashion. However, it was the experienced Ali Rizwan (60) and Salmanuddin (44) who helped Khan XI post a formidable total of 316 runs. Farruk Jawed and Mohammed Owais claimed 3-69 and 3-65, respectively. Chasing the target, Karachi Strikers lost three quick wickets. Khalid Farooqui made 50, Mohammed Ijaz 56 and Qaisar Mansoor 36. However, it was captain Mohammed Owais's unbeaten 85 that took the team past the target on the last ball of the game. Salmanuddin claimed two wickets. In a low-scoring encounter, Saudi Diesel downed Emerald Ashes. Saudi Diesel posted a meager 200, mainly through captain Tahir Hafeez (49) and Yasir Mahmood (37). Rajesh, Fahad and Rajeesh claimed two wickets each. In reply, Emerald Ashes scored fast during the power play, hitting 53 in 6 overs. Rajesh Radhakrishan, as usual, scored a quick-fire 46 in 28 balls. But once when Rajesh was sent back the bowlers of Saudi Diesel took charge. Emerald Ashes' batsmen were clueless to make-shift bowler Kashif Ashraf, who claimed 4-13 and Anwar 3-42 to restrict their opponents to 132. The match of the day was between Al-Jomaih Automotive and Team Arabia. Al-Jomaih Automotive posted 475. Mir Obaid Ali blasted 175 in 70 balls with 18 sixes. He was supported by Mohammed Mohsinuddin (121) and Mohammed Faizan (78). Sudesh and Sunil claimed two wickets each. In reply, Team Arabia scored 375. The main contributors were Nafsal Abdulrahman, who reached his century in 30 balls while making 152 in just 65 balls, Sudeesh (79) and Nishan (40). Tanvir of Al-Jomaih Automotive claimed 3-35. Hot favorite Bin Delamah Yorkers scored 355-6 against HET Falcons. HET Falcon was no match to the bowling of Bin Delamah, as it was bundled out for 144. For Bin Delamah, AbdulAzeez cracked a century (125) and wicketkeeper Mohammed Sajeed 97. Haider of HET Falcons claimed 3 wickets. For HET Haider made a valiant 55. Manu Raju (4-32) was the main wicket-taker for Bin Delamah Yorkers. An outstanding all-round performance from Ijaz Afridi of AIFCOM Challengers — 7-22 and 108 not out — helped AIFCOM Challengers beat Royal Kashmir by 6 wickets. Royal Kashmir's Shoaib (50) and Farhan (62) were the main contributors in its total of 207 in 40 overs. The target was achieved with ease in just 27 overs by AIFCOM. Omer bagged 2-17. Saipem bowled well and bundled Young Guns out for 262 in 38.4 overs. Mohammed Raif Arif scored a magnificent century (110). Zafar, Razak and Hamza took 2 wickets each. In response, Saipem had a shaky start and lost 4 quick wickets for 49. Then Pramodh (91) and Yaseen (93) steadied the innings and built up a 181-run partnership. Shah Bahadur Khan claimed 2 wickets. Bilal Tigers outplayed Gladiators by five wickets. Batting first, Gladiators posted 221-7 in 40 overs. Mansoor (59) and Waseem (38) were the main contributors. Ali Shahjahan claimed 3-28. In reply, Bilal Tigers chased the target in just 30 overs. The young all-rounder, Omer Imtiyaz, played some excellent strokes to score an unbeaten 131.
