KARACHI: Opener Faisal Iqbal struck a belligerent 90 but despite his heroics, Soneri Bank failed to qualify for the final of the first Arya Primer League T20 Cricket Tournament here the other day.

In the last league fixture of the event, the bankers whipped Classic Sports by a huge margin of 144 at the Public School Cricket Ground in North Karachi. The result meant Soneri Bank drew levelled on points with Feroz 1888 Mills Ltd and Sindh High Court (SHC) Greens.

But their inferior net run-rate (0.23) counted against them, leaving Feroz 1888 Mills Ltd (net run-rate of 1.73) and SHC Greens (1.68) easily making the final.

Batting first after winning the toss, Soneri Bank posted 252-5 with Faisal blasting seven sixes and eight fours during his 39-ball knock while donating the opening partnership of 72 with Fahim Ahmed (21).

M. Hussaini slammed an unbeaten 50 from 28 balls with the aid of four boundaries and three sixes while Asim Wahid hit four fours and a brace of sixes in scoring a 21-ball 47. The pair added 87 for the fifth wicket.

Skipper Mohammad Kamran was the pick of the bowlers for Classic Sports with his off-spinners fetching three wickets for 41 runs.

Classic Sports, in reply, struggled to 108-8 with Kamran contributing 32 (24 balls, two fours and one six) and Mohammad Umar 23 (13 balls, two fours and one six).

After his brilliant batting, man-of-the-match Faisal stole the limelight again by bagging three wickets for 37 runs with his off-spinners. Fellow off-spinners Mansoor Alam and Obaid-ur-Rehman took two wickets each.

Summarised scores:

Soneri Bank 252-5 in 20 overs (Faisal Iqbal 90, M. Hussaini 50 not out, Asim Wahid 47, Fahim Ahmed 21; Mohammad Kamran 3-41); Classic Sports 108-8 in 13.3 overs (Mohammad Kamran 32, Mohammad Umar 23; Faisal Iqbal3-37, Mansoor Alam 2-7, Obaid-ur-Rehman 2-14).

Published in Dawn, August 20th, 2014