KARACHI, July 23: Reigning champions Omar CC opened their title defence 27th Karachi Gymkhana PTV Ramazan Cricket Festival on an impressive note when they easily trounced Southend Club by 85 runs at the KG Ground here on Monday.

After winning the toss and opting to bat first, Omar CC collected 193-8 in their allotted 20 overs with Nauman Anwar (40 off 33 balls, four fours and one six) and skipper Hafiz Majid Jahangir (27 off 16 balls, three boundaries) putting on 60 for the opening wicket.

Fahad-ul-Haq, later declared the Man-of-the-Match for his 25-ball knock of 41 (three fours and two sixes), and Adnan Raza (30 off 24 balls, two boundaries) further boosted the total by adding 54 for the fifth wicket.

Off-spinner Tariq Murad claimed four for 35.

Southend Club, who began their chase on a horrendous note when opener Sarfraz Khan departed for a first-ball duck, limped to 108-9 in reply. Abrar-ul-Haq contributed an 18-ball 26 that included three fours and one six.

The wickets were evenly shared by Omar CC bowlers with Majid returning flattering analysis of two wickets for as many runs in his solitary over with occasional off-spinners.

Summarised scores:

OMAR CC 193-8 in 20 overs (Fahad-ul-Haq 41, Nauman Anwar 40, Adnan Raza 30, Hafiz Majid Jahangir 27; Tariq Murad 4-35, Bilal Mohiuddin 2-33); SOUTHEND CLUB 108-9 in 20 overs (Abrar-ul-Haq 26; Hafiz Majid Jahangir 2-2, Sultan Ahmed 2-16, Musa Khan 2-25). Tuesday’s fixture: KESC v Dollar East (Group ‘C’).