RIYADH — First-round matches of SCC National T20 Championship were played at Riyadh Cricket Association (RCA) grounds recently. In the first match, RCA beat RCL comprehensively by 4 wickets. RCL won the toss and elected to bat first. It lost its first wicket in the very first over when Imran was caught and bowled by Imtiaz Butt. Kamran and Faheem steadied the innings and scored 46 and 31 runs, respectively. Asad Khan also played well and remained unbeaten on 51. RCL tallied 194-5 in the allotted 20 overs. Imtiaz Butt took 2 wickets, while Abdul Salam got 1. In reply, RCA started disastrously with the loss of two wickets in the first over. RCA lost wickets at regular intervals, but Abdul Wahid stood firm and held the innings together by scoring a match-winning 139 not out off 62 balls. Abdul Salam scored 18 and Nadeem Babar 13. Jameel Khan claimed 3 wickets. RCA hit the target in 17 overs for the loss of 6 wickets. Abdul Wahid was declared the Man-of-the-Match. In the second match, RCA beat EPCA by 7 runs in a closely contested game. EPCA won the toss and elected to field first. RCA lost its key wicket of Abdul Wahid, the century-maker of the first match, early in the innings when his individual score was 15. Abdul Wahab and Zeeshan Haider scored 60 and 42, respectively. Nadeem Babar and Omar were the other notable contributors with 24 and 22. Nasir Khan of EPCA took 3 wickets on 3 consecutive balls. Asif Mughal took 3 wickets. RCA scored a challenging 200-8. Chasing a stiff target, EPCA openers started well, but lost their way in the middle. Waseem Malik was the top scorer with 50, Munawar scored 41 and Khawar 37. Zeeshan and Muzaffar took 2 wickets each, while Abdul Wahid and Kamran Hadi got 1 each. EPCA scored 193-6. Abdul Wahab and Zeeshan Haider shared the Man-of-the-Match award. RCA team will now visit Jeddah for the Super Six stage of the SCC National T20 Championship.
