KARACHI: Beaconhouse School North Nazimabad and St Paul High School sneaked into the semifinals of the HBL Inter-School Cricket Tournament by edging out their respective rivals in quarter-finals here the other day.

Beaconhouse School North Nazimabad outwitted HBL Schoolboys Whites by nine runs at the TMC Ground while St Paul High School recorded a narrow two-wicket victory over Beaconhouse School PECHS at the KCCA Stadium.

Batting first, after winning the toss, Beaconhouse School North Nazimabad overcame a shaky start to finish with a decent total 185 for seven in the allotted 40 overs. Opener Izan Khan scored a solid 47 off 93 balls. He added 80 for the fifth wicket with Muaz Bin Salman, who remained undefeated on 54 off 79 balls.

Medium-pacer Sohail Khan (2-48) and leg-spinner Ashraf Khan (2-49) were the successful bowlers for HBL Schoolboys Whites.

In reply, HBL Whites was put in the driving seat by their top-order batsmen Waleed Khan (54 off 73 balls), Wajid Nasir (35 off 35 balls) and Owais Butt (28 off 47 balls) before Beaconhouse bowlers struck. Waleed Hasan (2-25), Ahmed Salman (2-27) and Hasan Khan (2-30) ran through the opposition to bowl out HBL Whites for 176. Muaz Bin Salman was declared Man of the Match.

In the other quarter-final, which was a thrilling clash, Beaconhouse School PECHS batted first to score 175 in 35 overs with Huzaifa Ahmed (44 off 45 balls) and Hammad Khan (28 off 27) contributing well with the bat. Leg-spinner Fahad Irfan (4-27) bowled superbly and was assisted by left-arm spinner Hamza Khan (2-10) and medium-pacer Mohammad Hasnain (2-22).

Chasing a target of 176 in 40 overs, St Paul High School lost wickets at regular intervals to be reduced to 111 for six despite Umar Abdullah’s 45 off 102 balls.

But Mohammad Kashan’s brilliant unbeaten knock of 36 off 40 balls saw St Paul’s reach home. Off-spinner Mazahir Walji (3-25) delivered an outstanding spell but in vain.

Published in Dawn, November 15th, 2014