The weekend’s cricket produced a number of close matches in both competitions, a century by Abid Ali for Sri Lankan CC, and a change in leadership of the 40-over league.

Sri Lankans 279 beat Limassol Zalmi 275-9 by 4 runs

Abid’s ton completely transformed Sri Lankans’ game against Limassol Zalmi. Coming in with half the team gone for 94, he enabled them to reach a total of 279, hitting 4 sixes and 16 fours in his 75-ball innings of 109. Zalmi used 11 bowlers to try to dismiss him, the most successful being Umar Shah (3-29) and Syed Ziauddin (3-34) who finally bowled him out.

Zalmi made a spirited attempt to chase down the runs, led by their captain Murtaza Khan (49), but despite an unbroken last-wicket partnership of 34, they remained 4 runs behind when their overs were completed. Sri Lankans skipper Chandana Prartana was the leading bowler with 3-33. A consolation for Zalmi was that their batting and bowling brought them 20 bonus points from the match, keeping them in contention in the league.

Cyprus Moufflons 149 beat Sri Lanka Lions 132 by 17 runs

The other 40-over game was much lower scoring but also fluctuated between Cyprus Moufflons and Sri Lanka Lions of Limassol. With Lions’ Kamal Raiz taking 3-18 and Suresh Janaka 3-26, the Moufflons struggled to 74-8 before tailenders Gurwinder Singh (30) and Gaganpreet Singh (29 not out) revived their fortunes enough to reach 149 all out.

The Lions breezed past 100 for the loss of three wickets thanks to another half-century by Chamal Sadun. But he had little support, and once he was dismissed for 52 the innings fell away to 132 all out, with Gurdeep Sharma taking 3-18. The win lifts Moufflons to the top of the table, although teams below them have games in hand.

Bazigar 149-8 beat Limassol Zalmi 148-8 by 2 wickets

In the T20 league on Sunday, Syed Ziauddin’s 34 helped Zalmi to a total of 148-8, which was almost enough as Bazigar just got home by two wickets, thanks to 38 from Jawad Ali Shah, who also took two wickets, and 37 by Salman Khan. Zalmi’s Umar Shah took the first three wickets but Bazigar claimed the points after a tight finish.

Nicosia Fighters 99-2 beat Markhor 94-9 by 8 wickets

A much more one-sided game saw the unpredictable Nicosia Fighters wallop Markhor by 8 wickets after restricting them to 94-9 from their 20 overs, thanks to a remarkable spell of 5-11 by Abrar Chowdhury. The Fighters knocked off the runs inside 12 overs for the loss of just two wickets, with Parvez Miah leading the way with 32.

Cyprus Moufflons 188-6 beat Kings XI Punjab 111-9 by 77 runs

Cyprus Moufflons bowlers Lakhwinder Singh (4-16) and Gurdeep Sharma (3-25) destroyed Kings XI Punjab to prevent any chance of them challenging the total of 188-6 set by the Moufflons, Riyaz Kajalwala top-scored for Moufflons with 32 before having to retire hurt, and there were useful contributions all down the order to set up a convincing win.

Limassol Moufflons 125-8 beat Limassol Bangladeshis 121-9 by 2 wickets

Their sister club Limassol Moufflons had a much closer win over Limassol Bangladeshis, whose captain Anwar Hossain scored 53 out of their 121-9. His opposite number Abdul Rehman took 3-16 from his 4 overs.

The Bangladeshis must have sensed a rare win when they reduced the Moufflons to 46-7, only for Muhammad Zeeshan to make a decisive mark on the game. After the eighth wicket fell at 72, he carried the team to victory in the last over without further loss, finishing with an unbeaten 51 including 4 sixes, and dashing the Bangladeshis’ hopes.

40-over league standings

1 Cyprus Moufflons – played 5, points 116

2 Amdocs – p 5, pts 88

3 Royal – p 3, pts 75

4 Sri Lanka Lions – p 3, pts 64

5 Limassol Zalmi – p 3, pts 59

6 Sri Lankans – p 2, pts 38

7 Cyprus Super Kings – p 3, pts 36