Alpha CC batted first against Rising Stars at the 20th Challengers Cup with Yousuf Halari taking charge. The opener smashed an impressive 70 not out at the top to carry his side. The team scored at a relatively slow pace with the batting side getting off to a few good starts but unable to really get going. Fahad Saleem also knocked 27 runs as Alpha CC ended at a very subdued 160 for 8 in 20 overs. Rising bowlers did well to keep the pressure on with Ahmed Qureshi, Naveed Nagda, Zeeshan Fattani and Danish Fattani picking up a wicket each.
In response, Rising Stars lost opener Adeel Rizvi for duck. The team then fell apart, losing wickets too frequently, unable to build a partnership or get going at any stage. Only Faizan Khan's 48 and Naveed Nagda's 33 provided some hope as the chasing side edged towards the total. Jawad Ali was outstanding with the ball, taking 3 wickets in his spell. Faizan also took 2 wickets as the rest of the bowling unit chipped in to restrict Rising Stars to 157 in 20 overs. A hard fought contest with batting side scraping through.
Alpha CC won by 3 runs.
