Rahman, Rameez guide NBP to Ramazan Cup final

KARACHI: Former Test left-arm spinner Abdul Rahman and top-order batsman Rameez Raja Jr guided National Bank of Pakistan into the final of the 5th Naya Nazimabad Ramazan Cup Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2018 as they came from behind to topple State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) by seven wickets in the second semifinal, under floodlights, here at the Hussain Lawai Stadium late on Sunday night.

NBP’s opponents in the title clash will be Omar Associates, who had routed Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) by 47 runs in the first semifinal.

The duo of Abdul Rahman and Rameez Raja Jr, joint winners of Man of the Match award, turned the tide decisively in favour NBP after SBP had got off to a flying start on a difficult batting pitch in windy conditions. The SBP openers, Sahibzada Farhan and Mukhtar Ahmed, were batting very impressively and their 60-run opening stand was threatening to take the match away from NBP. Farhan had measured the bowling and he was putting them away mercilessly.

The breakthrough came against the run of play when Farhan was caught and bowled by left-arm quickie Sohail Tanvir. He had hammered a six and three fours in his 20-ball 32 when he checked a stroke which virtually changed the complexion of the game.

A lot was expected from skipper Kamran Akmal when he replaced the aggressive Farhan but the vastly experienced wicketkeeper-batman lived upto the billing of him being an enigma by perishing without troubling the scorers.

SBP lost the plot in a matter of minutes and they were unable to regain the momentum. Even Mukhtar Ahmed’s 30 laced with three fours was not enough to stop the rot and they were bundled out for 125 on the penultimate ball of their innings.

Test left-arm spinner Abdul Rahman got three wickets for 16 runs while skipper Bilal Asif got two for 17 with his off-spin to bring about the collapse.NBP, chasing a modest target of 126 in 20 overs, consolidated its position through opener Asad Ali and number three Ramiz Raja Jr who added 66 for the second wicket after Ahsan Ali was run out for 12.

Rameez, who scored a 50 in the quarterfinals against Brighto Paints, hoisted three sixes and struck four boundaries in his 35-ball match winning knock of 50. Ali Asad made a steady 32 off 40 balls with three boundaries. Naveed Yasin (16 not out) and Bilal Asif (11 not out) got NBP home with a couple of overs to spare.