Royal to meet Rangoonwala in T20 final
KARACHI: Royal CC will take on Rangoonwala CC in the final of the fourth Dollar East T20 premier League after recording contrasting semi-final victories at the Aga Khan Gymkhana Ground here on Wednesday.
A scintillating knock of 162 from opener Ahsan Ali inspired Rangoonwala to a convincing 82-run defeat of Spartan CC in the first semi-final. Ahsan made a mockery of Spartan CC’s decision to bowl first by spanking 18 boundaries and nine sixes during his 71-ball innings.
Fellow opener Zakir Malik, who put on 83 with Ahsan, set the tone with a blistering 40 off just 17 balls with five fours and three sixes.
Spartan CC were restricted to 178-9 in reply with paceman Abdul Latif Junejo taking 4-25 in fours.
Innovators CC, who also elected to field first, did well to curtail Royal CC to 161 all out in 20 overs after Ijaz Ali Shah (37 off 30 balls, three fours and two sixes) and Zeeshan Jamil (35 off 17, four fours and two sixes) shared an opening stand of 75.
Junaid Naeem claimed 3-36 in four overs before Innovators CC were dismissed for 145 in 19.1 overs. Slow left-armer Fawad Khan captured 3-32 in four overs.
Summarised scores:
Royal CC beat Innovators CC by 16 runs.
Royal CC 161- in 20 overs (Ijaz Ali Shah 37, Zeeshan Jamil 35; Junaid Naeem 3-36, Afroz Hasan 2-28); Innovators CC 145 in 19.1 overs (Arif 28 not out, Inam Khan 24, Arif Khan 21; Fawad Khan 3-32, Ali Yousuf 2-28).
Rangoonwala CC beat Spartan CC by 82 runs.
Rangoonwala CC 260-3 in 20 overs (Ahsan Ali 162 not out, Zakir Malik 40, Owais Ahmed Rehmani 30 not out; Sohail Khan 2-43); Spartan CC 178-9 in 20 overs (Aaqib Rizvi 52 not out, Imran Ali 32, Furqan Khalil 25, Nabeel Khalid 24; Abdul Latif Junejo 4-25, Ali Mudassar 2-32, Wasim Ali 2-34).—Sports Reporter
Neighbourhood Club survive scare to post first win
KARACHI: After suffering back-to-back defeats, Neighbourhood Club survived another scare when they beat Malir Trojans Club 49-47 in an exciting finish in the Essa Lab basketball tournament at the Arambagh floodlit court on Tuesday evening.
Asad Ali’s brilliant three-pointer at the fag end of the match paved the way of Neighbourhood’s victory.
The match which had many ups and downs was played at fast pace and Neighbourhood Club enjoyed slender 26-25 lead at half time. They won the first quarter 14-10 and lost the second 12-15.
Neighbourhood Club remained at the receiving end in the third quarter conceding it 12-16 before bouncing back to win the fourth 11-6.
Ali Ahmed delighted the spectators with his brisk shooting contributing 21 aided by six elegant three-pointers.
He was assisted by Asad Ali’s 12 that came with the help of three three-pointers including the match winner. Ali Jaffrey, who scored eight points, was sent out by referee on completion of five fouls in the fourth quarter when the Neighbourhood Club trailed 43-46. Faraz was outstanding for the losers with 15 and was ably assisted by Imran 10 and Yasir seven.
This was Malir Trojans third straight defeat in the five team league.—Sports Correspondent
Gold Cup starts with lopsided matches
LAHORE: Three matches were decided on the opening day of the fifth Punjab Chief Minister Women Gold Cup Hockey Tournament at the National Hockey Stadium here on Wednesday.
In one-sided matches, Punjab Colours outclassed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 5-1, United Women Academy team blanked Islamabad 6-0 while Punjab Whites crushed Sindh 6-0.
PIA chairman Irfan Elahi was the chief guest on the occasion. He was accompanied by Pakistan Hockey Federation president retired Brig Khalid Sajjad Khokhar and secretary Shahbaz Ahmed.
The PIA chief assured the national airline’s continued support to the national game despite financial constraints.
Speaking on the occasion, the PHF president said, “The revival of Pakistan hockey has begun and soon we will see encouraging results from our national teams. The recent success of Pakistan U-18 team in Australia has proved that our hockey talent is emerging once again.”—Sports Reporter
Top seeds sneak into KG squash quarters
KARACHI: Top four seeds lived up to their billing while overcoming their respective opponents to sneak into quarter-finals of the Karachi Gymkhana National Men’s Squash Championship at KG courts on Wednesday.
Top seed Ammad Fareed took just 16 minutes while getting the better of Shahid Hussain 11-7, 11-5, 11-9 while second seed Faraz Mohammad was home straight over Jahangir Khan Jr 11-4, 11-8, 11-5 in 18 minutes.
Third seed Ali Bokhari struggled to whip Ali Imran 11-13, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9 in 38 minutes while fourth seed M. Farhan conceded third game on way to disposing of Sikander Khan 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9 in 35 minute.
The quartet comprising Mahad Javed, Moin Rauf, Nouman Khan and Kashif Asif joined the top four in the last eight.
The quarter-finals will be played on Thursday.
Results:
Ammad Fareed (SNGPL) bt Shahid Hussain (Punjab) 11-7, 11-5, 11-9; Mahad Javed (Sindh) bt Ashfaque (Sindh) 11-7, 10-12, 11-5, 11-7; Moin Rauf (Punjab), bt M Naeem (Sindh), 11-8, 11-4, 11-3; Ali Bokhari (Punjab) bt Ali Imran (Sindh), 11-13, 11-9, 11-8, 11-9; M Farhan (SNGPL) bt Sikander Khan (Sindh) 11-7, 11-7, 8-11, 11-9; Nouman Khan (Sindh) bt Junaid Rehman (Sindh), 11-3, 11-6, 11-2; Kashif Asif (SNGPL) bt M Waseem (Punjab) 11-4, 11-5, 11-9; Faraz Mohammad (Navy) bt Jahangir Khan Jr (Sindh) 11-4, 11-8, 11-5.— Sports Correspondent
Boys get into action in squash event
LAHORE: Qualifying round in Boys Under-17 and 19 were played on day one of All-Pakistan National Squash Championship-2017 at Punjab Squash Complex here on Wednesday.
Results:Boys under-17: Ahmed Hasan (KP) bt Saad bin Abid Waqas (Punjab) 11-3, 11-8, 11-8; Hammad Khan (Punjab) bt Rafi Khan (Sindh) 11-8, 8-11, 11-8, 5-11,11-8; Mohammad Essa (Punjab) bt Arbab Mehran Khan (KP) 11-5, 15-13, 11-2; Shahab Khan (Punjab) bt Muhammad Usman (Punjab) 12-10, 8-11, 11-6, 11-9; Moaz Khan (Punjab) bt Abdullah Tariq (Punjab) 11-5, 11-4, 11-5; Atif Malik (Punjab) bt M.Qasim Noorani (KP) 13-11, 8-11, 7-11, 7/-11; Abdul Wajid (KP) bt Hamza Aslam (Punjab) 11-3, 11-8, 11-3; Mavia Hussain (KP) bt Ghulam Mustafa (Punjab) 11-3, 11-6, 11-2.
Boys under-19: Mohammad Fawad (KP) bt Zia Shahid (Punjab) 11-7, 11-2, 11-3; Daud Khan (KP) bt Wali Hassan (Punjab) 11-2, 11-0, 11-1; Ghazi Khan (KP) bt Shaukat Khan (KP) 6-11, 11-5, 6-11, 11-6, 11-5; Shaharyar Khan (Punjab) beat Mohammad Muneeb (KP) 11-7, 11-3, 11-9; Mohammad Zahid (Punjab) bt Shaharyar Shahid (Punjab) 11-4, 14-16, 12-10, 11-8; Abdul Mughni (Punjab) bt Abdul Wajid (KP) 11-5, 11-5, 11-1; Qamar-ul-Islam (Sindh) bt Asad Abid (Punjab) 11-5, 11-5, 11-5; Usman Hassan (Punjab) bt Mohammad Amir (Punjab) 11-6, 11-1, 11-1.—Sports Reporter
PCB fines Umar, Junaid
LAHORE: The PCB has imposed a fine of fifty per cent of match fee on Test cricketers Umar Akmal and Junaid Khan, both members of the ICC Champions Trophy squad, for their misconduct during the Pakistan Cup.
The event was held last month in Rawalpindi.
According to a PCB announcement on Wednesday, the two players have also been cautioned that they will be kept under observation for a month starting from May 18, and recurrence of the breach of discipline will lead to one-month suspension, automatically. Both Umar and Junaid will pay a fine of Rs12,000 each as 50 per cent of their match fees.—Sports Reporter
National beach handball begins
LAHORE: Six matches were played in National Beach Handball League at University of Agriculture, Faisalabad.
Results:
Misaq Club bt Bolan Club, Quetta 2-0 (24-12, 16-8); Mardan Club bt Comsats Club, Islamabad 2-1 (14-18,26-19,7-2); Misaq Club, Faisalabad bt Comsats Islamabad 2-0 (26-13,22-12); Bolan Club, Quetta bt Mardan Club 2-0 (15-12,15-14); Misaq Club bt Mardan Club, 2-0 (26-20, 26-16) Comsats Club, Faisalabad bt Bolan Club, Quetta 2-0 (19-14,15-14).
Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2017