Saudi Arabia: Cloud7, Enerco and Pan Gulf are winners of SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Cup
Eastern Province Cricket Association (EPCA) Dammam recently organized the 1st edition of the Youm Al Watni T20 Cricket Cup sponsored by Saudi Cricket Centre (SCC). SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Cricket Tournament began on October 9, 2020, with 40 teams participating divided into 3 divisions. Premier division consisted of 10 teams, Prime division consisted of 10 teams and First division consisted of 20 teams.
Quarter Finals of first division and semi-finals of all divisions participating in the SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Tournament were held at EPCA grounds on November 6, 2020. Results are as follows:
Quarter Final 1 – First Division: Khobar Rangers C.C. (KRCC) defeated Khobar Gymkhana C.C. (KGCC) by 7 wickets. KGCC set a target of 142/5 runs. KRCC easily chased the target with wonderful innings played by Waheed Ur Rehman scoring 63(44) hitting 11 boundaries.
Quarter Final 2 – First Division: Adpco Friends C.C. defeated Young Guns C.C. by 6 wickets. Batting first, Young Guns C.C. set a target of 147/7 in 20 overs with Tauseef Ali scoring 69(44). Adpco Friends convincingly chased the target in 14.1 overs with the help of blistering innings played by Hamid Ali scoring 61(35) hitting 10 boundaries and being awarded the man of the match.
Quarter Final 3 – First Division: Cloud 7 C.C. qualified for semi-finals after defeating Young Stars C.C. in a one-sided match by 8 wickets. Young Stars batted first scored 112/9 while Cloud 7 C.C. chased the target easily in 9.3 overs. Vindeed Mohanan was awarded man of the match for his performance of grabbing 3 wickets in 4 overs giving away only 11 runs.
Quarter Final 4 – First Division: Shayan 11 C.C. won by 7 wickets chasing 142 runs in 17.2 overs against Eastern Warriors C.C. Iqrar Ahmed was awarded the man of the match for his excellent performance of 69*(48) hitting 8 boundaries. He was well-supported by Muhammad Fahad who scored 43(34).
Semi-Final 1 – First Division: Adpco Friends C.C. beat Khobar Rangers C.C. by 7 wickets and qualified for the finals. Khobar Rangers C.C. scored 174/6 in the allotted 20 overs which was chased by Adpco Friends C.C. in 17.0 overs. Vasim Izhar played powerful innings of 51(23) hitting 7 boundaries and 3 sixes.
Semi-Final 2 – First Division: Cloud 7 C.C. won by 8 wickets chasing 119 against Shayan 11 C.C. Abdul Sattar Khader Aziz was awarded the man of the match for his magical spell of grabbing 4 wickets in 4 overs for 23 runs.
Semi-Final 1 – Prime Division: Enerco C.C. beat DHL Snas C.C. by 33 runs to qualify for the finals. Batting first, Enerco C.C. scored 221/3 in 20 overs. Man of the match was awarded to Kamran Shah for his powerful innings of 86(38) hitting 11 fours and 2 sixes. He was well-supported by Asad Abbas 54(32) and Shamas Cheema 46(31).
Semi-Final 2 – Prime Division: Intelligent Hawks C.C. defended 159 runs in a nail-biting semi-final beating Space Travels Falcon C.C. by 34 runs. Man of the match was awarded to Nisar Ahmed for his responsible 43(33) supported by Amir Goraya 36(35).
Semi-Final 1 – Premier Division: Pan Gulf C.C. easily defended 175 runs and won by 51 runs against Kanoo C.C. qualifying the final of the premier division. Kashif Riaz was awarded the man of the match for his outstanding performance of 70(41) hitting 11 fours and 1 six. Kashif Abbas took 3 wickets giving 20 runs in 4 overs.
Semi-Final 2 – Premier Division: Pak Saudi C.C. chased 173 runs in 19 overs set by Intelligent Qalandars C.C. Qayyum Meher scored 77(53) hitting 4 fours and 2 sixes but a man of the match was awarded to Nasir Khan for his all-round performance. He took 2 wickets and scored 59(31) hitting 5 fours and 1 six making sure his team qualified for the finals.
The final matches were played on 13 November 2020 and the results are as follows
First Division – Adpco Friends C.C. batted first and scored 140/6 in 20 overs Cloud 7 C.C chased it down in style by scoring 143/2 in 14.2 Overs and won the SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Cup (First Division). Muhammed Shafi scored a match-winning 59(39) and remained unbeaten for the fifth time in the tournament. Vineedh Mohanan’s 3/30 in 4 overs earned him the man of the match trophy.
Prime Division – Enerco C.C. beat Intelligent Hawks C.C. by 50 runs and bagged the SCC T20 Youm Al Watni Cup (Prime Division). Batting first, Enerco posted an impressive total of 192/5 in 20 overs thanks to scintillating unbeaten innings of 75(42) by the man of the match, Shamas Sajjad Cheema. In response, Hawks folded to 142 in 17.5 overs. Akhtar Ali was the pick of the bowlers with 2/17 off his 4 overs.
Premier Division – Pan Gulf C.C. beat Pak Saudi C.C. by 9 Wickets to be crowned the winners of SCC T20 Youm Al Watni (Premier Division). Sajid Khan’s 2/23 off 4 overs helped Pan Gulf restrict Pak Saudi to a small total of 116 (all-out) in 17.2 overs. Pan Gulf cruised home in just 10 overs thanks to its openers Kashif Abbas 52(22) and Kashif Riaz 50*(30) who both scored half-centuries. Kashif Abbas was declared the man of the match.
First Division’s wicketkeeper-batsman Shahil Ahammed (Cloud 7 CC) was the highest run-scorer of the tournament with 370 runs in 7 matches.
Top bowling honors for the tournament were shared by Nasir Mehmood (Pak Saudi CC) of Premier Division and Vineedh Mohanan (Cloud 7 CC) of First Division who bagged 13 wickets each at an average of 14.92 and 16.77 respectively.
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PM Modi holds talks with Dutch counterpart Jetten; discusses trade, investment
The Hague (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday held wide-ranging talks with his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten, focusing on trade, investment, and critical technologies.
Modi arrived in the Netherlands on Friday on the second leg of his five-nation tour. This is his second trip to the Netherlands, following his visit in 2017.
Ahead of the bilateral talks, Modi, along with Jetten, held discussions with prominent CEOs of leading Dutch companies across various sectors such as energy, ports, health, agriculture trade, and technology, among others.
Modi invited Dutch companies to explore opportunities in India, particularly in maritime, renewable energy, digital technologies, semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and healthcare sectors.
"We are continuously reducing compliance and increasing the ease of doing business. We have recently carried out next-generation reforms in taxation, labour code, and governance," he told the business leaders.
The prime minister added that manufacturing in India is becoming very cost-effective, and in the services sector, it has become the engine of efficiency and innovation.
"We invite all of you to design and innovate in India. There can be no better time for this than today," he said.
"Today's India is a symbol of scale and stability. In terms of scale, we are also the fastest-growing major economy in the world and the world's largest talent pool. Infrastructure, clean energy or connectivity – no one in the world can match India's speed," Modi said.
"And on the subject of stability, I have completed 12 years of serving as the Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy. In these 12 years, with continuous reforms, we have transformed our economic DNA. Our direction has been clear – to give policy predictability to the private sector and increase opportunities for them," he added.
Modi said his government has opened up every sector for the private sector, be it space, mining or nuclear energy.
Ahead of the meeting, an agreement between ASML and Tata Electronics was signed in the presence of the two leaders.
The two prime ministers also called for early implementation of the India-EU-FTA.
Earlier, Prime Minister Modi met King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima at the Royal Palace and discussed close cooperation in digital technology, innovation, fintech and blue economy.
PM Modi's visit will build on the momentum of high-level engagements and close cooperation spanning diverse sectors, including defence, security, innovation, green hydrogen, semiconductors and a strategic partnership on water, the MEA said ahead of his visit.
The Netherlands is one of India's largest trade destinations in Europe, with bilateral trade worth USD 27.8 billion in 2024-25. The European nation is India's fourth-largest investor with cumulative foreign direct investment of USD 55.6 billion.
From the Netherlands, the prime minister will travel to Sweden for a two-day trip from May 17 to 18.
