KARACHI: Saadat Munir bowled a tidy spell of three wickets as Eaton CC qualified for the semi-finals of the 29th Karachi Gymkhana Omar Associates Ramazan Cricket Festival with a five-wicket win over Dubai Islamic Bank (DIB) here on Thursday.

DIB, who asked to bat first in the last quarter-final at the KG Ground, lost initiative when they stumbled dramatically from a healthy 83-2 to 120 all out in 19.5 overs after Saifullah Magsi (41 off 36 balls, four fours and one six) and Mohammad Afzal (25 off 25) had put on 55 for the third wicket.

Slow left-armer Saadat claimed three wickets for 16 runs with off-spinners Fahad Anjum (2-17) and Ashiq Ali (2-16) lending excellent support.

Eaton CC then knocked off the required runs in 18.1 overs for the loss of five wickets. Jahandad Khan hit a brace of sixes and as many fours in scoring 32 from 27 deliveries after opener Ali Jawwad had made a 19-ball 24 (three boundaries).

Fahad Anjum was declared man-of-the-match.

Summarised scores:

DUBAI ISLAMIC BANK 120 in 19.5 overs (Saifullah Magsi 41, Mohammad Afzal 25; Saadat Munir 3-16, Fahad Anjum 2-17, Ashiq Ali 2-19); EATON CC 121-5 in 18.1 overs (Jahandad Khan 32, Ali Jawwad 24, Sameer Khan 20 not out; Nabeel Khalid 2-21).

Friday’s fixture: Omar CC vs Eaton (first semi-final).

Published in Dawn, July 25th , 2014