Omar Associates reach Dr MA Shah Trophy semis

KARACHI: Omar Associates rode on batting heroics of Umar Akmal and Saad Nasim to qualify for the semi-finals when they overwhelmed Pakistan Currency Exchange by 14 runs in the fourth quarter-final of Dr MA Shah Trophy 2018 here at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium on Thursday night.

Umar blasted 44 off just 22 balls and Saad hammered 31-ball 42 to guide Omar Associates to 174-6 in the allotted 20 overs. Umar smashed four sixes and the same number of fours in his magical knock. Saad struck five fours in his solid effort. Danish Aziz chipped in with a 28-ball 29 with three fours. Khushdil Shah made 19-ball 21 with three fours. Test cricketer Iftikhar Ahmed and Imran Khan got two wickets each.

In response, Pakistan Currency Exchange were folded for 160. Test cricketer Khurram Manzoor’s brilliant 43-ball 60 failed to benefit his side.Khurram smashed seven fours and three sixes during his commanding knock. Test pacer Sohail Khan showed some batting guts, scoring a quick-fire 15-ball 27, which featured three sixes.

Iftikhar Ahmed made 17-ball 24 with three fours and Mohammad Waqas scored 15-ball 18 with two sixes.Asif Ali got 3-21 with his left-arm spin bowling. Mohammad Irfan and spinner Kashif Bhatti captured two wickets each. Mohammad Rehan and Aqeel Adil supervised the match.