KARACHI: Omar Associates Karachi set up Sunday’s title clash with Lahore Lions after both won their respective semi-finals in contrasting fashion in the fourth National Veterans Cup on Saturday.

In the first semi-final, Lahore Lions registered a one-wicket victory over Sialkot Seniors Gold as per the information provided by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA).

Omar Associates in the second semi-final inflicted a 76-run defeat on Islamabad Panthers.

In the first match, Sialkot Seniors Gold won the toss and put Lahore Lions in to bat. Lahore Lions scored 205-3 in the allotted 20 overs with Ghaffar Kazmi notching up first ever century in the Veterans Cup 50-plus event.

He hit an unbeaten 103 off 61 balls with five sixes and 10 fours and Wasim Fazil scored 50 not out off just 30 balls with 3 sixes and 4 fours.

Tahir Saeed took two wickets for 20 and Mohammed Naeem took one for 41.

In reply, Sialkot Seniors Gold scored 131-9 in their 20 overs. Nadeem Sarwar scored 39 off 38 balls with 6 fours and Zahid Ahmed scored 25 not out.

For Lahore Lions, Ashiq Qureshi and Shahid Mir took three wickets each for 23 and 33 runs respectively. Ghaffar Kazmi was declared man of the match.

In the other semi-final, Omar Associates outclassed Islamabad Panthers by 76 runs.

Batting first, Omar Associates scored 185 runs for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs.

Mohammad Aslam scored 48 off 34 balls, Sajid Ali scored a 30-ball 39 with one six and 3 fours, Nadeem Musa scored 38 not out runs off just 16 balls with 1 six and 5 fours. In reply, Islamabad Panthers were all out for 109 in 16.2 overs.

Mian Pervaiz Akhter, former PCB match referee, scored 25 off 23 balls with 2 fours, Sardar Mehmood Sadiq scored 19 runs in 19 balls.

For Omar Associates, Fareeduddin took four wickets for only 16 runs, Nadeem Musa took three wickets for nine and Yahya Toor claimed two for 22. Fareeduddin was declared man of the match.—APP