JEDDAH: Usman Gems ended the unbeaten run of Zultec Cricket Club and Crown Steel chased a huge target set by My Care and Hala in the semifinals of the WPCA Premier League Tournament last week. Zultec, which qualified for the knockout stage with cent percent victories in the first round encounters and topped the standing, lost to the lowest ranked Usman Gems by 6 wickets as the winner successfully chased 282 with more than 4 overs to spare. Zultec chose to bat first and started well with openers Wajahat (44 in 41 balls) and skipper Anis Malik (32) making 67 for the first wicket. But once they departed Zultec lost wickets at regular intervals. However, Awaiz made a quickfire 59 not out in 35 balls, Javed 25 and Nadeem 26 to lift Crown to 281-7 in the allotted 40 overs. Amir Ali grabbed 3-54, Hashim Khan 2-61 while Amir Sajjad and Akram got one wicket each. Usman Gems, in reply, reached 282-4 in 35.5 overs as captain Amir Sajjad blasted a magnificent century (104) in 68 balls with 3 sixes and 9 boundaries. Rashid Malik, coming at No. 5, then took control of the situation and hammered 60 not out in 45 balls. Hashim Khan stroked 27, Amir Ali 29 and Akram 23. Khaled Iqbal scalped 2-52 while Ajmal and Anis Malik took one wicket each. The other semis saw a nailbiting finish as it went to the last ball. My Care & Hala, electing to bat first, racked up 326-6 in the allotted 40 overs as Shahbaz plundered 107 in 69 balls with 14 fours and 2 sixes. First he added 101 for the second wicket with Kashif (68 off 42 balls) and then 119 for the third with Nadeem (60). In the later part Abdul Qayyum made an unbeaten 34. Off-spinner Shoaib took 3-48 while Abu Huraira, Zaheer and Khurram got one wicket each. In reply, Crown Steel's opener Shafeeq, who stroked 43 off 22 balls, added 76 with Hammad Easa (52 in 32 balls). Later Imran Nasir blasted 54 and kipper Shoaib contributed 37. But the man who to steered the mighty Crown into the final was Babar who batted sensibly to score an unbeaten 82 in 51 balls. Kashif grabbed 2-54, Mohsin 2-75, Fahim 2-55 while Yasser and Shahbaz took one. __
