KARACHI, Nov 19: A hurricane century by Test wicketkeeper Atiq-uz-Zaman set up a comfortable 36-run victory for Landhi Friends over Pak Gymkhana in the Rs600,000 Paragon Cup-2001 at the UBL Sports Complex `B’ Monday.
Atiq clobbered 12 fours and eight sixes in a 52-ball 120 that helped Landhi Friends collect a massive 277 in 24.2 overs.
Pak Gymkhana put up a fight but it was not enough to avert the inevitable as they were bowled out for 241 with a ball to spare.
At the UBL Sports Complex `A’, Malir Gymkhana recovered from a surprise first match defeat by humiliating Ideal Group by 133 runs.
Malir Gymkhana batsmen made even contributions that lifted them to an imposing 209 for nine in 25 overs. Later, their frontline bowlers equally shared nine wickets between them to dismiss Ideal for 76 in 18.1 overs.
Ali Gohar (three for 23), Mohammad Hasnain (three for 20) and left-armer Mohammad Husain (three for 14) caused Ideal’s demise.
Atiq was in devastating form when together with Mohammad Zafar he put on 168 for the opening wicket in less than 15 overs. Zafar played an electrifying 29-ball 78 that included 12 boundaries and three sixes.
After Zafar’s return, Atiq dominated a 49-run second wicket partnership with Abdur Rahman who contributed just 15.
For Pak Gymkhana, former one-day international batsman Saeed Azad grabbed four wickets for 22 runs. He was the most successful and economical bowler after Navaid Ahmad, Yahya Toor and Zafar Iqbal conceded 179 runs from their 10.2 overs.
When Pak Gymkhana batted, Ata-ur-Rehman led the run charge by canning eight fours and two sixes in his 36-ball 66 while Asif Qayyum stroked three fours and as many sixes in his 27-ball 43. Saeed Azad remained unbeaten on 42 off 33 balls with four fours.
Summarized scores:
Landhi Friends beat Pak Gymkhana by 36 runs
LANDHI FRIENDS: 277 in 24.2 overs (Atiq-uz-Zaman 120, Mohammad Zafar 78; Saeed Azad 4-22, Atif Ali 2-35)
PAK GYMKHANA: 241 in 24.5 overs (Ata-ur-Rehman 66, Asif Qayyum 43, Saeed Azad 42 not out, Nasir Wasti 21; Shahid Husain 3-41, Abdur Rehman 3-51, Atiq-uz-Zaman 2-9)
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Atiq-uz-Zaman
Malir Gymkhana beat Ideal Group by 133 runs
MALIR GYMKHANA; 209-9 in 25 overs (Asim Kamal 41, Rashid Latif 31, Mohammad Hasnain 31, Rashid Hanif 28, Mohammad Farrukh 26; Kaleem Siddique 2-19, Fariduddin 2-25, Abdul Wahid 2-52)
IDEAL GROUP: 76 in 18.1 overs (Mohammad Husain 3-14, Mohammad Hasnain 3-20, Ali Gohar 3-23)
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mohammad Hasnain
TUESDAY’S FIXTURES: KESC v Total Energy at UBL ‘A’, Tapal CC v Baqai Dolphin at UBL ‘B’.