Nasir Mehmood Abbasi RIYADH — CKK and Pak Shaheen set up Al-Kharj Zone final following thrilling wins in their respective semifinals here recently. Elsewhere quarterfinals in the Huraymala and Riyadh zones were also played in the Sikander Farooqui Memorial (SFM) Cricket Tournament, being organized by Riyadh Cricket Association and sponsored by Saudi Cricket Centre. In the Al-Kharj semifinals, CKK won a thriller against Shuraim by 3 runs. CKK scored 261 in the stipulated 40 overs. Nouman Asghar held the innings together with 71. Najeeb (49), Kashif (35) and Basit (32) supported Nouman. Shuraim battled hard, but fell short by 3 runs. Rizwan hit 51 and Javed 40. Imran Kifayat picked 4 wickets and Nadeem Asghar 2. Pak Shaheen beat Lahore Lions by 20 runs in the second semifinal. Pak Shaheen lost some quick wickets early on, but Abdul Salam played a match-winning innings of 138, which helped Pak Shaheen reach a formidable total of 283. Abdul Qadir hit 46 and Ishaq 30. Lahore Lions, in reply, could score only 263. Abdulaziz took 3 wickets. In Huraymala Zone quarterfinals, Pakistan Falcons beat Crescent by 39 runs. Pakistan Falcons scored 210. Yassir hit 75, Hamza 53 and Matiullah 36. Faisal, Umer, Mohsin and Imran took 1 wicket each. Crescent, in reply, managed 171. Mohsin scored 58 and Moazam 26. Tila and Rizwan picked 3 wickets each, while Yassir and Matiullah grabbed 2 each. In another match, Riyadh Fighters beat Stallions by 6 wickets. Stallions put on 172. Sohail hit 40, Asif 32 and Imran 27. Majid picked 4 wickets, while Imran and Taqi chipped in with 2 each. Riyadh Fighters achieved the target in 17.4 overs. Hameed remained unbeaten on 55, Imran hit 43, Nusrat 35 and Omar 21. Asif picked 2 wickets. KFSH Green got the better of Riyadh Warriors by 21 runs. KFSH Green scored 183-7. Suhail hit 50, while Shafeeq and Rafaqat added 23 each. Majid bagged 3 wickets. Warriors, in reply, were restricted to 162. Asif added 52, Ayaz 33 and Toufeeq 21. Shafeeq picked 3 wickets, while Farooq bagged 2. Hyderabadi Warriors, meanwhile, beat Yusafzai-XI in the last quarterfinal. In the Riyadh Zone quarterfinals, Nouman Gymkhana beat AKCC by 33 runs. Gymkhana, batting first, scored 214. Notable contributions came from Shahzad 74, Amjad 38 and Mudassir 31. Khawar took 4 wickets, while Jahangir claimed 2. AKCC, in reply, scored 181. Aimal hit 75 and Usman 52. Shahzad picked 3 wickets, while Mudassir claimed 2. In another match, Kohsar Cricket Club (KCC) beat Rawdah Heats by 7 wickets. Rawdah Heats put on 142. Hadi scored 33 and Abdulrahman 30. Sohail and Nasir picked 3 wickets each. KCC achieved the target in 14.1 overs. Meraj Abbasi remained unbeaten on 74, while Qasim added 29. The third quarter saw Lahore Badshah Green beat Tigers by 1 run. Batting first, Lahore Badshah Green scored 189. Amman, Upol and Sharaf took 1 wicket each. Tigers, in reply, managed 188. Sailesh Kaw added 58, Murad 51, Amman 33 and Sharaf 25. Imran-XI beat Punjab Stars in the last quarterfinal.
