KARACHI: Talented Khushdil Shah excelled with a good all-round performance as debutants Agha Steel stunned Tapal CC by 15 runs to reach the final of the 31st Aga Khan Gymkhana Ramazan Cup T20 Cricket Tournament here on Saturday.

Man of the match Khushdil Shah first scored 43 and later finished with excellent figures of two wickets for 15 runs as Tapal CC, chasing 156 for victory, were bowled out for 140 in 18.5 overs in the first semi-final here at AKG Ground.

Zakir Malik blasted a 19-ball 39 with six fours and a brace of sixes but the rest struggled against Agha Steel’s spinners as Yasir Hussain (2-13), slow left-armers Khushdil Shah, Hassaan Khan (2-22) and Hasan Mehmood (2-30) tormented them.

Earlier sent to bat first, Agha Steel posted 155- 9 with man-of-the-match Khushdil striking four sixes and three boundaries in 24-ball knock. Khushdil got good support from Wasim Qureshi, who scored 31 not out

Mohammad Amir, Fawad Khan and veteran Test Left arm-spinners Abdul Rehman got two wickets each.

Summarised scores:

AGHA STEEL 155-9 in 29 overs (Khushdil Shah 43, Wasim Qureshi 31 not out, Imran Ali 16, Arsalan Bashir 14; Abdul Rehman 2-24, Mohammad Amir 2-24, Fawad Khan 2-33); TAPAL CC 140 in 18.5 overs (Zakir Malik 39, Hasnain Bukhari 19, Daniyal Ahsan 18, Owais Ahmed Rehmani 16; Yasir Hussain 2-13, Khushdil Shah 2-15, Hassaan Khan 2-22, Hasan Mahmood 2-30).

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2018