In the first week of RCL Bilawal Cup T20 tournament, Game Pro, Super, Black Caps, Gujranwala and Maestro won their matches.
Altaf , Basharat, Bilal, and Saqib Memon bowled well, while Dastageer, Waqar, Qaisar, Shafiq and Shoaib all shone with the bat. RCL has constructed one new ground for a total of 6 grounds being used for this tournament. For more details visit RCL website www.rcl-ksa.com.
First match: Game Pro won against Mughal C.C. by 56 runs. Batting first, Game Pro scored 212 runs by losing 7 wickets. Farhan played beautifully and scored 61 runs. Moiz 48 , Dilshad 36, Surjit 31 and Amir scored 16 runs. Sajjad Shah took 2 wkts for 31 runs, while Mushtaq, Jawaid, Shafiq and Waqar claimed one wkt each. In reply, Mughal C.C. scored 166 runs all out. Sajjad Shah made 38 runs, Jawaid 31,Zubair 24 and Shahid scored 10 runs. Surjit bowled brilliantly and claimed 4 wkts for 21 runs, Farhan claimed 3 for 33 and Zakria took 2 for37.
Second match: Black Caps beat Star XI by 55 runs. Batting first, Black Caps scored 174 runs all out. Abid made 29 runs. Bilal Wani 35,Sanaullah 34,Muqeem 21,and Sabuj scored 19 runs. Asif and Basharat bowled well and took 4 wkts each for 30 and 31 runs. In reply, Star XI all out for just 119 runs, Imtiaz was the only batsman who scored 49 runs bravely rest of the batsman were failed to reach in double figure, Bilal took 4for 19 runs and Sabuj took 2 for25.
Third match: Gujranwala beat Royal Fighters by 6 runs. A great match by both teams. Batting first, Gujranwala CC scored 193 runs for 5 wkts. Dastageer played handsomely and scored very valuable 92 runs for his team, Waqar 52 runs, Usman Ashraf 15 runs. Qaisar and Mustagfir bowled well and took 2 wkts for 17 runs each. In reply, Royal Fighters started chasing the target but unfortunately they were bowled out just 6 runs short of the target scoring 186. Qaisar made 59 runs, Zaif 35, Ameen 31 and Mustufa 18 runs. Altaf was 5 for 36, while Ashraf took 3 wkts for 26 runs.
Fourth match: Uper Green won by 5 wkts against Riyadh Sports Club. Batting first, Riyadh Sports Club made 147, Sanawar 29 runs, Shaban 20, Younus 30, and Waqar made 16 runs. Babar Mirza took 3 for 28, Abdul Majeed 3 for11 and Babar junior 2 for 12 runs. In reply, Super Green achieved the target in just 15.2 overs. Shafiq scored 52 runs, Sajid 26, and Adnan made 24 runs not out. Sunil took 2 for 21 and Shaheen 2 for 15 runs.
Fifth match: Maestro C. C. triumphed by 5 wkts against Bhatkal Warriors. Batting first, Bhatkal Warriors were bowled out for 168 runs. Musaddique played a nice innings of 55 runs, Sadat 14, Aleem 16, and Sameer made 42 runs not out. Saqib bowled well and took 4 wkts for 19 runs in his spell, while Ashfaq took 2 wkts for 29 runs. In reply, Maestro reached the target in 16.2 overs for the loss of 5 wkts. Shoaib played well and made 57 runs, Jamal 20, Riyaz 22, Ashfaq 17 and Umer made 18 runs. Musaddique took 2 wkts for 32 runs.
Game Pro, Super, Black Caps, Gujranwala, Maestro excel in RCL Bilawal Cup
Game Pro, Super, Black Caps, Gujranwala, Maestro excel in RCL Bilawal Cup
Man City fight back to end Anfield hoodoo and reel in Arsenal
- Victory was City’s first away to Liverpool in front of a crowd since 2003 and reapplies some pressure to Arsenal’s quest for a first title in 22 years
LIVERPOOL: Erling Haaland’s stoppage-time penalty earned Manchester City a dramatic 2-1 win at Liverpool on Sunday to reduce Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League back to six points.
City were heading for defeat at Anfield with six minutes to go before Bernardo Silva canceled out Dominik Szoboszlai’s stunning free-kick to spark an incredible finale.
Haaland put City in front from the spot before the visitors had another goal ruled out and Szoboszlai was sent off in the same incident after a VAR review.
Victory was City’s first away to Liverpool in front of a crowd since 2003 and reapplies some pressure to Arsenal’s quest for a first title in 22 years.
Defeat delivered another blow to Liverpool’s hopes of Champions League football next season.
The defending champions remain down in sixth and four points adrift of the top five.
These two clubs have combined to win the last eight Premier League titles, but both showed the flaws which have opened the door for Arsenal to potentially end their long wait to be crowned champions of England once again.
Haaland has scored just once from open play in his last 13 games and an uncharacteristic lack of confidence from the Norwegian showed with the best chance of the first half inside the opening two minutes.
Silva’s clever pass split the Liverpool defense, but Haaland’s shot lacked conviction under pressure from Milos Kerkez, and Alisson Becker was able to save low to his left.
Haaland hooked another effort straight at Alisson among 10 first half City attempts without a breakthrough.
Guehi booed
Second half slumps have been a consistent feature of City’s season and the visitors again faded in the second period until a late flurry saved their title challenge.
Hugo Ekitike should have opened the scoring when he completely miscued his header just before the hour mark after a lightning fast Liverpool break.
Marc Guehi was relentlessly booed after his proposed move to Liverpool from Crystal Palace broke down on transfer deadline day in September.
City took advantage to swoop in last month when they lost two key center-backs to injury.
Guehi was fortunate to escape with just a yellow card when he dragged down Mo Salah just outside the box.
But it was City who were left fuming at the award of the free-kick which led to the opener when Ryan Gravenberch went down under minimal contact.
Szoboszlai scored the only goal with an outrageous free-kick when Arsenal visited Anfield in August and produced another stunning strike which clipped the inside of the post before finding the net.
However, the Hungarian went from hero to villain when City levelled six minutes from time.
Szoboszlai played Silva onside as he slid in to volley home Haaland’s header for City’s first second half goal in the Premier League this year.
Alisson then wiped out Matheus Nunes to concede a penalty and Haaland kept his cool from the spot to put City in front.
Pep Guardiola’s men still needed a stunning save from Gianluigi Donnarumma to tip behind Alexis Mac Allister’s deflected shot.
With Alisson remaining forward from the resulting corner, the Liverpool goal was open when Rayan Cherki took aim from the halfway line to roll the ball into an empty net.
However, Haaland and Szoboszlai’s grappling as the ball trickled toward the goal saw the strike ruled out, with a free-kick awarded to City instead, and the Liverpool player given his marching orders.
