Khurram steers Karachi to One-day Cup final

ISLAMABAD: Consistent Khurram Manzoor (100) powered Karachi Whites into the final of National Inter-Regional Cricket following a comprehensive win against Peshawar in the first semis at the Pindi Stadium Thursday.

Peshawar team that opted to bat first managed 281 before being bowled out on the penultimate ball of the innings. Yet again Khurram gave a dazzling display upfront enabling Karachi Whites reach home losing five wickets in the process.

The day belonged to Khurram (515 runs in total in the tournament) who smashed his third century of the tournament on his way to complete 500 hundred runs in eight matches he played so far in the tournament.

The right handed opener struck 11 fours and one six during his 102-ball stay at the wicket to make relatively good Peshawar total look easy. He put on 80 runs with Asad Shafiq (36) for the first wicket and then another 113 with Akbarur Rehman (82) to set the stage for easy victory for Karachi Whites. Though Karachi faced a bit of resistance under the fading light, Danish Aziz (20 not out) of just eight balls did the trick for them. Akbar who hit five fours and one six, Fawad Alam (25) and Faisal Iqbal (6) lost their wickets in quick succession. Taj Wali (1-44) and Zohaib Khan (1-48) bowled relatively well.

Peshawar earlier had slow start to their innings raising 100 in 26th over. Thought the team hit 116 runs in the last 15 overs, 282 runs winning target was never a daunting one for Karachi Whites. For Peshawar Mohammad Asghar (72), Israrullah (47) and Akbar Badshah (40) got off to good start but failed to turn their innings into a match winning one.

Left arm spinner Mohammad Asghar (3-43) and medium pacer Anwar Ali (3-49) were impressive.On Friday, the two neighbouring cities Islamabad and Rawalpindi will be up against each other in the second semi-finals to decide as who would be playing Karachi Whites in the final Sunday.

Islamabad have got a big boost as Baber Azam has decided to play the semis Friday. “His inclusion in the team would be of great benefit to us,” Taimoor Azam, Islamabad head coach said.

Scores in brief: Peshawar Region 281 in 49.5 overs: (M Rizwan 72, Israrullah 47, Akbar Badshah 40, Adil Amin 33, Zohaib Khan 31, M Asghar 3-43, Anwar Ali 3-49, Zia-ul-Haq 2-66) Karachi Region White 285-5 in 49.1 overs: (Khurram Manzoor 100, Akbar-ur-Rehman 82, Asad Shafiq 36, Fawad Alam 25, Israrullah 1-36, Taj Wali 1-44, Zohaib Ahmed 1-48). Result: Karachi Region White won by 5 wickets. Man of the Match: Khurram Manzoor.