JEDDAH: Pak Shaheen, Al-Burj and UT Lines recorded wins over their respective opponents in the 6th week matches of the Jotun Paints Saudi Cup cricket tournament.
Jotun Paints Saudi Arabia sponsored the tournament under the aegis of Jeddah Cricket Association (JCL).
Pak Shaheen recorded a 27-run win over Jamoom Fighters with openers Faisal Khan (106 off 43 balls) and Raweed (87 – 47 balls) putting on a 178-run opening wicket partnership.
Al-Burj beat Kashmir Strikers by a huge margin of 190 runs behind Waseem’s hurricane knock of 118 (42 balls, 16 fours, 6 sixes).
Naseem Al Zahra’s Amer Wahla played a scintillating knock of 154 off 55 balls and Khalid took 5 wickets for 2 runs to bundle out Pak Makkah for 126 runs and win by 183 runs.
Makkah Kings beat Al Zafer by 65 runs with Zuber (3 for 32) and Naeem (3 for 24) bowling their hearts out. ARM United’s Nazeer excelled scoring 74 to guide his team to a seven-wicket win against Kashmir Stags. Makkah Eagles a record a facile seven-wicket win over AEC thanks to Irfan who excelled with ball and bat, taking 2 for 40 and scoring 30. UT Lines raced to a six-wicket win against Saudi Oil with the help of Usman’s 64 runs.
Match summaries:
Pak Shaheen beat Jamoom Fighters by 27 runs
Pak Shaheen 282 for 6, Faisal Khan 106, Raweed 87, Usman 28, Riaz 2 for 61. Jamoom Fighters 255 all out Aslam 67, Naeem 43, Usman 45, Afzal 36, Faisal Khan 2 for 42 and Ahmed 3 for 44 and Ali 2 for 20.
Al-Burj beat Kashmir Strikers by 190 runs
Al-Burj 280 for 4 in 20 overs Kamran 43, Waseem 118, Usman 39NO, Rehan 24, Farhan 2 for 60, Ashfaq 2 for 47. Kashmir Strikers 90 all out Arif 20, Adnan 3 for 14, Khalid 2 for 22, Rehan 2 for 1.
Naseem Al-Zahra beat Pak Makkah by 183 runs
Naseem Al-Zahra 309 for 2 Amir Wahla 154, Qamar Javed 41, Usman 59, Khalid 34. Pak Makkah all out 126 Burhan 43 NO, Khalid took 5 for 2.
Makkah Kings beat Al-Zafer by 65 runs
Makkah Kings 192 for 8, Irfan 43, Imran 25, Usman 22 and Rahim 29 runs, Samit 2 for 40, Shamsuddin 2 for 34. Al-Zafer 127 all out Samit 62, Nahid 22, Zubair 3 for 32, Naeem 3 for 24, Anees 2 for 22
ARM United beat Kashmir Stags by 7 wickets
Kashmir Stags 179 for 7 Sajid 42, Khurshid 39, Naseer 25, and Mansoor 2 for 30. ARM United 181 for 3 in 16.4 Overs Nazeer 74, Qureshi 52NO,
Makkah Eagles beat AEC XI by 7 wickets
AEC XI 154 all out Abid 56, Atif 31, Wajid 30, Malik Aijaz 3 for 38, Irfan 2 for 40. Makkah Eagles 155 for 3 in 13 Overs Saad 46, Irfan 30, Shahzad 35, Wajid 2 for 21.
UT Lines beat Saudi Oil Co. by 6 wickets
Saudi Oil 158 for 9 Humayun 30, Khaled 24, Aijaz 25, Ayaz 20, Nazir 2 for 25, Sardar 2 for 21. UT Lines 159 for 4 in 17.3 Overs Usman 64, Shad Mohamed 29, Bilal Khan 39NO.
Big wins for Pak Shaheen, Al -Burj, UT Lines in Jotun Paints Saudi Cup
Big wins for Pak Shaheen, Al -Burj, UT Lines in Jotun Paints Saudi Cup
Forest, Celtic into Europa League play-offs as Villa fight back
- Villa looked to be sliding to just a second defeat in Europe this campaign when Salzburg surged 2-0 ahead in Birmingham through goals from Karim Konate and Moussa Yeo
PARIS, France: Nottingham Forest will go into the Europa League play-off round after a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros on Thursday, while Celtic secured their place in the knockout phase with victory over Utrecht.
Aston Villa finished second in the league phase after recovering from two goals down to beat Red Bull Salzburg 3-2 with their spot in the last 16 already assured.
Forest stood an outside chance of climbing into the top eight going into the final round of matches but needed to beat Robbie Keane’s Ferencvaros and rely on other results going their way.
Sean Dyche’s side did their bit as Igor Jesus struck twice for Forest after Ferencvaros defender Bence Otvos scored an own goal. James McAtee tucked away a late penalty, but the win was only enough for the Premier League club to finish 13th overall.
“It has not been easy through various games, the schedule, planning, traveling and all that sort of stuff. To come out of a disappointing one in Braga (1-0 loss last week) and then to deliver that I am very pleased,” Dyche told TNT Sports.
Twice former European champions Forest will learn their play-off fate on Friday. They will face Fenerbahce or Panathinaikos over two legs next month, while Stuttgart or Ferencvaros await Celtic, who overcame lowly Utrecht 4-2 after scoring three times in the first 19 minutes in Glasgow.
Benjamin Nygren put Celtic ahead before an own goal from Utrecht captain Nick Viergever. Arne Engels converted a penalty with Celtic cruising, but Utrecht pulled it back to within one until Auston Trusty’s header gave the hosts some more breathing space.
Teen wins it for Villa
Villa looked to be sliding to just a second defeat in Europe this campaign when Salzburg surged 2-0 ahead in Birmingham through goals from Karim Konate and Moussa Yeo.
Morgan Rogers reduced the deficit and Tyrone Mings headed Villa level, with 19-year-old Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba netting his first senior goal to complete the turnaround for Unai Emery’s men.
“It’s a proud moment for me on my European debut,” Jimoh-Aloba told TNT Sports. “It’s just really nice to make my family proud and stuff because of all the hard work. I’ve had a lot of lows this season and a lot of highs, but this is top.”
Villa, who sit third in the Premier League, will get a welcome break before the last 16 — where they could meet Lille, PAOK, Red Star Belgrade or Celta Vigo.
Emery has won the Europa League a record four times as a manager and Rogers believes that is a considerable advantage for Villa.
“He knows how to get his way through a competition, especially this one. To have him in our corner guiding us through it is going to be massive,” said Rogers.
Lyon topped the table with seven wins from eight after completing the league phase with a 4-2 victory over PAOK. A minute’s silence was observed before kick-off in memory of the seven Greek fans killed in a minibus accident in Romania on Tuesday.
Midtjylland, Real Betis, Porto, Braga, Freiburg and Roma all finished in the top eight to ensure direct qualification for the last 16.
Rangers concluded a miserable European campaign with a 3-1 loss at Porto, their sixth defeat in eight games in the competition.
