KARACHI: Opener Shujaat Azeem struck a quickfire half-century while guiding Rangoonwala to an easy six-wicket victory against Hawks Academy in the opening fixture of the T20 Royal Premier League at the RLCA Gulberg Ground here on Monday.

Rangoonwala skipper Touheed Khan starred upfront with a mesmerizing spell of 3-15 in four overs as Hawks Academy collected 91-8 in their 20 overs after being put into bat.

Off-spinning all-rounder Fahaddis Bukhari claimed 2-13 while Akbar Khan top-scored for the Hawks with a 32-ball 25.

Shujaat then dominated the second half of the match by blasting 51 from only 32 balls with the aid of six fours and three sixes as Rangoonwala reached 92-4 in 12.4 overs.

Chief guest Javed, administrator of Khalil Nanitalwala Education Group, later jointly awarded the man-of-the-match prize to Touheed and Shujaat at a ceremony which was also attended by tournament organiser and former first-class cricketer Zaheer Ahmed Sheikh, Zubair Sheikh and others.

Summarised scores:

HAWKS ACADEMY 91-8 in 20 overs (Akbar Khan 25, Taj Wali 18; Fahaddis Bukhari 2-13, Touheed Khan 2-15); RANGOONWALA 92-4 in 12.4 overs (Shujaat Azeem 51; Dawood Khan 3-22).

Published in Dawn, August 15th, 2018