Media Release
Dammam, Oct 31: People from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka came together in large number on single platform to play and watch Khobar United Cricket Tournament’s final day. It was a homely feeling at Sabsa ground, Raka, Saudi Arabia where people of different nationalities, classes, languages, cultures and religions were united without any boundaries.
Al Aad emerged as the winner and Safa Al Hassa the runner-up of Khobar United Trophy 2015.
The second day of the tournament started with a welcome speech by tournament chairman Hameed Khurshid. Shahab recited verses from the Quran to inaugurate the final day, in the presence of executive members of Khobar United Cricket Club like captain Dildar Hussain, coach Raja Raees, Arshad, Shaukat Khalifa, Munawar, Fayaz, Mansoor. Guests Raju, captain of BMC, Kayyum from Egalite, Yaseen from Sabsa, umpire Umrabba and umpire Rajgopal from Dammam Cricket Assoiciation, umpire Khaleel and Afsar from EPCA were present on the dais.
A silent prayer was offered by everyone gathered on the ground for the victims of the recent earthquake in different parts of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan and for the safety of entire mankind.
All the Khobar United committee members, volunteers and players ensured the tournament was conducted smoothly in a professional way.
The tournament which began at Sabsa ground, Al Raka in Dammam on October 23 attracted 16 teams from Al Hassa, Dammam, Al-Khobar and Jubail regions. The teams were divided into two groups. All the first round matches were completed on October 23, and the quarterfinal, semi-final and final matches were played under the floodlights on Friday October 30.
The final match was between Al Aad Jubail and Safa Al Hasa. The Al Aad captain won the toss and elected to field first. Safa Al Hasa batsmen managed to score 52 runs in 8 overs at the loss of 9 wickets.
In response, Al Aad had a good start and continued the momentum and managed to achieve the target in 7.2 overs by losing three wickets, winning comfortably by seven wickets. The team spirit exhibited by the players of both the teams was appreciated by the spectators.
Earlier, Al Aad defeated Expertise Jubail and Safa Al Hasa defeated BMC in the semi-final matches.
After the finals, the prize distribution ceremony was held, conducted by popular anchor Mansoor . He welcomed the guests, the players, the audience and the media partners and thanked all the members of Khobar United Club, sponsors, participating teams and tournament officials who strived hard to make this tournament a success. He specifically thanked Dammam Cricket Association (DCA) and EPCA umpires Umarabba Shirva, Raj Gopal, Khaleel and Afsar for their service in the tournament.
In between, five attractive instant raffle prizes were drawn and handed over to lucky winners.
The trophies were distributed to the following:
Best Batsman: Rafeeq of Al Aad
Best Bowler: Nazeer of Al Aad
Best Wicketkeeper: Azad of Al Aad
Man of the Match in final: Imithiaz of Al Aad
Man of the Series: Sajid of Safa Al Hasa
Semi-final Runner-up:BMC Jubail
Semi-final Runner-up:Expertise Jubail
Best Team: NGC Jubail
The various assignments were led by Hameed Khurshid (overall monitoring of the tournament), Munawar (finance and entry management), Mohsin and Afzal (catering management), Fayaz (stage management), Shaukat Khalifa (photographer), Javed, Anis and Thoufeeq (first aid), Arshad, Qamar, Sajid Gujjar and team (volunteer management), Dildar Hussain and Raja Raees (guests care), Mansoor (commentator), Faisal, Kashif and Bilal (sound management), Billa and Babar (stage co-ordination and water supply), Ali, Siraj, Ahmad and Imran (score management) and all the members of Khobar United Club who worked hard for the success of the tournament.
Sponsors of the event and guests were: Universal Technical Services - UTESCO (Azmathullah and Parameswaran), Modern Ocean Factory for Electric (Osama and Najeeb), Khalid Al Bahar Trading Est - KABTIS (Mansoor and Khalid Al Bahar), Al Manafa Trading and Transport Services (Joey Fernandes), SASP (Yogeesh Poojary), Intermodal Services SA (Sadashiv Poojary), BMC Jubail (Sagar Kumar and Sathish Bajal), Raqwani Company (Amjad and Salam), Al Jazeera Ambition Factory (Ismail), Expertise Jubail (Sheik), Al Batin Scaffolding (Nizar and Nazeer), Tammam Contracting Est (Saad and Fayaz), Al Falah Engineers and contactors (Nazeer and Nishar), Egalite (Tanzil), Switz Bakery (Saviour Mathias), Power Horizon (Abid), Saleh Ayed Balharith Est - SAB (Salman), Ahmed Khalid (Aramco), Bliss Unisex Saloon and Platform Production (Sahil Zaheer), Eastern Arabia and Zayan Restaurant (Imran Karkala), Wafi Sports Jubail, Burj Sports Dammam, Ashok Patel and Siraj (Dammam Cricket Association), Raka Cricket Association (Soofi), Jubail Cricket Association, Sabsa, Eastern Province Cricket Association (EPCA) and Al Falah Cricket Club (ACC).
The splendid Khobar United Tournament ended on a memorable note with the vote of thanks. Indeed, it was a thrilling, exciting and joyful event, a milestone in the history of rubber ball cricket in Saudi Arabia.