Greeno Cmax qualify for final

KARACHI: Greeno Cmax overcame a nightmarish start to reach the final by taming Rangoonwala Sports by five wickets in the second semifinal of the 36th edition of the Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival Cricket Tournament 2023 for the Omar Trophy here at the KG Cricket Ground on Saturday.

Opting to bat first after winning the toss, Rangoonwala Sports scored 162 for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Openers Faisal Khan (39 off 31 balls) and Arbaz Khan (36 off 28 balls) laid the foundation for a big total but the middle overs remained relatively quiet before Arif Khan (32 off 24 balls) and Farid Shah (34 off 22 balls) added 56 for their unbroken fifth wicket stand in 6.4 overs.

Greeno Cmax got off to a nightmarish start in pursuit of their target of 162, losing top three batsmen for just five runs after one and a half overs. Wicketkeeper Osama Baloch, adjudged Man of the Match, turned it around with a fluent knock of 57 off 38 balls containing four sixes and two fours. The unbeaten contributions from Ram Ravi (38 off 33 balls) and Zubair Dilawar (31 off 14 balls) saw them over the line with nine deliveries remaining.

Jahangir Moghul, a former President of Karachi Gymkhana, was the chief guest at the prize distribution ceremony which was also attended by the club’s Vice President Ambreen Tapal and Convener Sports Rizwan Umer.

The final between Greeno Cmax and Ashfaq Memorial Club to be played on Tuesday (tomorrow) will be followed by the closing ceremony in which cash awards to the tune of nearly Rs2 million will be disbursed.