KARACHI, Sept 4 Despite a remarkable bowling performance from Afsar Nawaz, A.O. CC suffered a 14-run defeat against Tapal CC in the 22nd Aga Khan Gymkhana State Life Ramazan Festival Twenty20 cricket tournament match at the AKG Ground on Thursday.

Afsar returned outstanding figures of 6-19 in four overs with his occasional off-spin bowling as Tapal CC reached 157-8.

For the first time in the ongoing Ramazan tournaments in the city, the team winning the toss opted to field first and this is exactly A.O. CC did in the Group 'D' fixture but their bowlers struggled to dislodge the opening pair. Hanif-ur-Rehman was Tapal CC's chief scorer with 62 off 40 deliveries laced with six fours and three sixes. Arshad Azam made 38 (26 balls, three boundaries) while putting 86 for the first wicket with Hanif.

A.O. CC, in reply, closed at 143 for nine. Nadeem Shaikh made a 34-ball 54. Fahadullah scored 26.

Slow left-armers Kamran Umar and Salman Fazal claimed two wickets apiece as did medium-pacer Babar Rehman.

After the match, the jury jointly decided to award the man-of-the-match prize to rival players Hanif-ur-Rehman and Afsar Nawaz for being the day's best performers.

Meanwhile, Thursday's match between AKU Staff and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) in the fifth Aga Khan University (AKU) Sports Centre Twenty20 Ramazan Colour-kit cricket tournament was postponed because of a wet pitch at the AKU Ground.

Summarised scores

TAPAL CC 157-8 in 20 overs (Hanif-ur-Rehman 62, Arshad Azam 38; Afsar Nawaz 6-19, Usman Ali 2-24); A.O. CC 143-9 in 20 overs (Nadeem Shaikh 54, Fahadullah 26; Kamran Umar 2-14, Salman Fazal 2-23, Babar Rehman 2-24).—Sports Reporter