KARACHI, Dec 7: Fine batting by Aamir Bashir and Kamran Hussain guided Pakistan Customs to a comfortable six-wicket victory over debutants Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) in the Patron’s Cup one-day match at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park in Steel Town on Sunday.
Skipper Aamir struck 79 and the left-handed Kamran ended up with an excellent 94 as Customs surpassed PTCL’s total 255 for eight in the 48th over. The pair were involved in a fourth-wicket partnership of 126 in 118 balls.
Aamir’s 90-ball knock contained six hits to the fence, while Kamran who surprisingly did not bowl in the match, blasted five sixes during his 89-ball innings.
Earlier, PTCL, who chose to bat first after winning the
toss, were well served by Test left-hander Asim Kamal (56 off 70 balls, five fours), Shahzad Malik (45 off 62 balls, three fours) and captain Mohammad Hussain (54 off 7 balls, five fours).
Asim gained some invaluable batting practice before he flies off to New Zealand with the Pakistan squad in a few days. He found a useful ally in Shahzad as the duo came together in a solid stand of 82 for the fourth wicket.
Off-spinner Atif Maqbool claimed three for 51. There two wickets each for medium-pacer Junaid and slow left-armer Nisar Abbas.
Scoreboard
PTCL:
Babar Naeem b Imran 25
Naved Latif c Bilal b Junaid 2
Shiraz Khalid c Shahbaz b Junaid 16
Asim Kamal c Imran b Nisar 56
Shahzad Malik st Shahbaz b Nisar 46
Mohammad Hussain c Kamran b Atif 54
Zulqarnain Haider st Shahbaz b Atif 16
Riaz Afridi b Atif 3
Jawwad Hameed not out 15
Tabish Nawab not out 0
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-8, W-12) 22
TOTAL (for eight wkts, 50 overs) 255
FALL OF WKTS: 1-5, 2-43, 3-68, 4-148, 5-171, 6-199, 7-215, 8-251.
DID NOT BAT: Yasin Bari.
BOWLING: Stephen John 8-0-24-0 (1w); Junaid Zia 8-0-46-2 (8w); Imran Ali 10-0-55-1 ((1w); Khurram Siddique 8-0-34-0 (2w); Nisar Abbas 7-0-35-2; Atif Maqbool 9-0-51-3.
PAKISTAN CUSTOMS:
Khurram Siddique c Jawwad b Riaz 5
Kashif Siddique run out 16
Bilal Khilji c Zulqarnain b Tabish 17
Aamir Bashir run out 79
Kamran Hussain not out 94
Shahbaz Butt run out 20
Nisar Abbas not out 8
EXTRAS (B-5, LB-5, W-4, NB-7) 17
TOTAL (for five wkts, 47.4 overs) 256
FALL OF WKTS: 1-17, 2-24, 3-71, 4-197, 5-225.
DID NOT BAT: Junaid Zia, Atif Maqbool, Stephen John, Imran Ali.