RIYADH — Sama Steel and Pak Shaheen will clash for the title of Youm Al-Watani 2016 Cup (YWC-16) on Jan. 13. The final will be played at the newly primed Ground 5 of Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) Sports Complex. In the semifinals, Sama Steel survived a marathon chase by Lahore Badshah by 2 runs, while Pak Shaheen defeated KFSH Blues by 40 runs. This is the fourth edition of Youm Al-Watani Cup which is jointly organized by RCA and GK International Indian Sports Club (GKIISC). The first semifinal, Sama Steel skipper Asif Butt called the coin correctly and elected to bat. He revealed his intent for a big total during the toss and it was achieved by his batsmen by scoring 398-7 in 40 overs. The main support came from opener Rashid Mirza (104 — 66, 4x17, 6x2). Raja Ejaz (63 — 50, 4x8, 6x1) and Rizwan (63 — 33, 4x8, 6x2) contributed to the big total. Saad (2-60) and Usman Butt (2-33) were the main wicket-takers for Lahore Badshah. Chasing the big total, Badshahs started briskly with Fahad Munir scoring 50 in 18 balls with 10 fours. Malik Fahad (172 — 80, 4x16, 6x7) took over from Fahad and he sent the rivals on a leather hunt. He was supported by Mudassir (33 — 25) and Imran Khan (79 — 61, 4x5, 6x3). These batsmen kept the match under control with a run-a-ball chase and with 6 wickets in hand. But the departure of Malik Fahad, caught on deep point by Raja Ejaz, drifted the game slowly toward Sama Steel. The batsmen in a hurry to cross the winning line started losing wickets. The last over needed 13 runs but it fell short by just 2 runs. The fielding side Sama Steel handled the pressure well, while the batting side failed. Rashid Mirza was selected as the Player of the Match. In the second semis, Abdul Waheed scored his fourth century of the tournament in five innings which helped Pak Shaheen enter final. KFSH captain Nasir Abbasi won the toss and elected to field with the intention of containing Pak Shaheen below 300 runs as he has one of the best batting lineup. Pak Shaheen openers Waheed (114 — 79, 4x13) and Ibrar (48 — 25, 4x7, 6x3) gave a good start. Waheed played fluent drives for a well-compiled hundred. First, Ibrar was held by Nasir at mid-off off a slower delivery from Imtiaz. After that only Abdul Salam (33) and Ateeq (24) contributed to the total. The fall of Abdul Waheed to a fine running catch by Khurram at mid-wicket put brakes on Pak Shaheen's scoring. The post-drink session was dominated by KFSH bowlers and fileders. The pick of the bowler was Imtiaz (3-74). He was supported by Iftikhar (3-51) and Nadeem Babbar (2-31). Pak Shaheen was bowled out for 308 in 37.5 overs. Chasing a modest total, KFSH could neither get a good opening nor a good partnership going. Nasir (13), Ayaz Shah (12), Nadeeem Babar (9) and Amjed Khan (16) were back in the pavilion before reaching 100. Munawar (49 — 44, 4x5, 6x1), Khurram (43) and Imtiaz (51) kept fighting on. Pak Shaheen bowlers did not let the game slip away from their hands and they bundled out KFSH for 268 in 38.3 overs. Dawood Khan (3-61) and captain Wahab (2-43) were the main bowlers for Pak Shaheen. Abdul Waheed won the Player-of-Match award, which was his second in YWC-16.
