KARACHI: Axis Cricket Club beat Showbiz XI by 81 runs to qualify for the Virtual Axis Ramzan Festival T20 cricket tournament final against Veterans Friends XI.

After electing to bat first, Axis CC lost three wickets for 67 runs. But Sohail Khan (111) and Mohammed Tahir (102) formed an unbeaten 178-run stand to propelled their team to a massive 245-3 in 20 overs.

In reply, Showbiz XI were not up to the task and lost wickets at regular intervals. Noman Habib scored a 42-ball fifty at the last ball of the match as the Showbiz XI finished at 164-8 in the stipulated overs.

The final of the tournament has been postponed and will now be played whenever the government eases the Covid-19 SOPs.

In the end, Tahir and Sohail were jointly awarded men of the match. Meanwhile, president of the Sports Journalists Association of Sindh Muhammad Asif Khan presented the memento to the guest of honour of the evening, Khawaja Ahmed Mustaqeem.

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2021