KARACHI: Karachi Whites just about held their nerves to edge out Lahore Blues by just six runs to qualify for the final of the PCB Inter-region Under-19 One-day Championship in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.
In a pulsating first semi-final at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Karachi Whites posted 353-7 after skipper Ram Ravi won the toss. Openers Umair Yousuf and Jahanzeb Sultan both survived two dropped catches apiece as they put on a partnership of 130 in 136 balls.
Umair was the top-scorer as he struck 135 off 28 balls with the aid of 14 boundaries and one six, while Jahanzeb scored 63 off 71 deliveries with eight fours and one six.
The impetus to the imposing total was providing by emerging all-rounder Mohammad Taha, who bludgeoned 10 boundaries in a quickfire 72 from just 47 balls as he shared a fourth-wicket stand worth 126 in 91 balls with Umair.
Slow left-armer Rizwan Siddique grabbed three wickets for 70 runs, while all-rounder Qasim Akram took 2-43 in five overs with his occasional off-spinners.
Lahore Blues, undaunted by the huge chase, fought on bravely until the very end to finish at 347-9. Zaid Alam played a captain’s innings of 128 despite being handicapped by a severe bout of cramps which forced the right-hander to retire with his score on 105 at the total of 162-2 in 24 overs.
Zaid, who eventually returned to the crease at the fall of the fourth wicket at 241 in the 37th over, hoisted no less than 10 sixes and hit nine fours during his whirlwind 91-ball innings before being sixth batsman to be dismissed.
Uzair Nasir contributed a 71-ball 63 that included four fours and one six.
Qasim slammed a brisk 46 with his 37-ball effort laced with five hits to the fence, while wicket-keeper Mohammad Furqan ended up making an undefeated 34 off only 20 balls with two fours and one six.
After his vital contribution with the bat, Taha starred with his slow left-armers by capturing two wickets for 38 runs in his 10 overs — a great feat in a match that yielded exactly 700 runs in 100 overs for the loss of 16 wickets.
Karachi Whites’ opponents in Saturday’s final will be known on Thursday when Sialkot meet Karachi Blues in the other semi-final.
Scoreboard
KARACHI WHITES: Umair Yousuf c Qasim b Nasim 135 Jahanzeb Sultan b Qasim 63 Ram Ravi c Nasim b Qasim 20 Sufyan Khan c Suleman b Rizwan 17 M. Taha c Attyab b Rizwan 72 M. Usman st Furqan b Rizwan 3 Haider Abbas run out 9 Syed Amin not out 8 Arish Ali Khan not out 8 EXTRAS (W-14, NB-3) 17 TOTAL (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 353 FALL OF WKTS: 1-130, 2-158, 3-181, 4-307, 5-322, 6-337, 7-337. DID NOT BAT: Adil Ijaz, Mohammad Ali Khan. BOWLING: Nasim Shah 9-0-66-1 (1nb, 6w); Mohammad Saleem 10-0-71-0 (2nb, 3w); Zaid Alam 4-0-34-0 (2w); Ahmer Jalil 1-0-52-0 (2w); Rizwan Qureshi 10-0-70-3; Qasim Akram 5-0-43-2; Attyab Ahmed 2-0-17-0.
LAHORE BLUES:
Ibtisam-ul-Haq c Umair b Taha 15
Zaid Alam c Usman b Taha 128
Uzair Nasir c Taha b Usman 63
Attyab Ahmed run out 7
M. Saleem c Arish b Jahanzeb 27
Qasim Akram c Jahanzeb b Usman 46
M. Suleman c Usman b M. Ali 1
Rizwan Siddique b M. Ali 1
Mohammad Furqan not out 34
Ahmer Jalil run out 5
Nasim Shah not out 0
EXTRAS (LB-5, W-14, NB-1) 20
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 347
FALL OF WKTS: 1-76, 2-187, 3-225, 4-241, 5-276, 6-280, 7-297, 8-321, 9-338.
NOTE: Zaid (105) retired hurt at
162-1 in 20 overs and resumed at 241-4 in 36.4 overs.
BOWLING: Mohammad Ali Khan 9-0-68-2 (1nb, 6w); Mohammad Usman 9-0-71-2; Arish Ali Khan
10-0-69-0 (2w); Mohammad Taha 10-1-38-2 (1w); Adil Ijaz 6-0-50-0; Syed Amin 3-0-22-0; Jahanzeb Sultan 3-0-24-1 (1w).
RESULT: Karachi Whites won by six runs.
UMPIRES: Raweed Khan and Saleem Butt.
TV UMPIRE: Asif Yaqoob.
MATCH REFEREE: Asif Aslam Khan.
OFFICIAL SCORER: Shakeel Ahmed.
SECOND SEMI-FINAL: Sialkot vs Karachi Blues, Thursday.
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2017
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.