KARACHI: Skipper Hassan Khan’s impressive all-round performance helped Beaconhouse School (North Nazimabad) outclass Fahad Academy by six wickets in the HBL Inter-school Cricket Trophy final here at the National Stadium on Wednesday.

Besides smashing 134 off only 79 balls, Hassan also claimed three wickets to ensure that Beaconhouse School clinched the trophy rather leisurely in the end.

The tournament was organised by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) and sponsored by HBL.

Set a target of 196 in 40 overs, Beaconhouse lost both the openers cheaply but Hassan guided them to the chase, with a sensational knock of 134 which contained five sixes and 18 fours.

Beaconhouse were in sight of a massive victory when he departed and the job was completed by the pair of Anwar Iqbal (26 off 20 balls) and Izaan Waqar (18 off 36). Both of them remaining undefeated, as the winning runs came in only the 27th over.

Earlier, the spin quartet of Hassan Khan (3-29), Muaz bin Salman (2-24), Waleed Hasan (2-32) and Ahmed Salman (2-34) had sent Fahad Academy crashing to 195 all out in 38 overs after a solid start provided by openers Babar Hassan (90 off 86 balls) and Mohammad Saleem (28 off 22).

Chief guest Aman Aziz Siddiqui, Head Strategy & Investment HBL, presented the winners trophy with a cheque of Rs50,000 to Beaconhouse School captain Hassan Khan while Tauseef Khan, the Fahad Academy skipper, collected a cheque of Rs 30,000 with the runners-up trophy.

In the individual awards category, Tariq Bakht was declared the player of the tournament while Ammad Alam Mohiuddin Javed, Mohammad Moiz and Ammar Iqbal were declared as the best batsman, best bowler, best fielder and the best wicket-keeper of the event, respectively.

Shaharyar M. Khan, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), who was the guest of honour, assured the board’s total support to the PVCA initiatives aimed at promoting the game at grassroots level.

Summarised scores:

FAHAD ACADEMY 195 in 38 overs (Babar Hussain 90, Mohammad Saleem 28, Akhtar Zaman 19; Hassan Khan 3-29, Muaz Bin Salman 2-24, Waleed Hasan 2-32, Ahmed Salman 2-34); BEACONHOUSE NORTH NAZIMABAD 198-4 in 26.4 overs (Hassan Khan 134, Ammar Iqbal 26, Izaan Waqar 18 not out).

Published in Dawn December 4th , 2014