BITS AND PIECES

bits and pieces

 

Dawood Sports shock SBP in Naya Nazimabad Cup

By our correspondent

KARACHI: Dawood Sports and Heroes Cricket Club Quetta won matches in the 4th Naya Nazimabad Ramazan Cup Cricket Tournament 2016 here at the Hussain Lawai Stadium late on Saturday evening.

Dawood Sports topped Group B and reached the quarter-finals when they pulled off an upset victory over State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Heroes CC overcame Atiq Estate by a similar margin in their Group A encounter.

Left-arm spinner Junaid Naeem, adjudged Man of the Match, grabbed four wickets for only 10 runs to bowl Dawood Sports to third successive victory as SBP crashed to 81 all out in 20 overs. Nadir Shah (2-12) and Wajid Saleem (2-24) also bowled well. Mohammad Naveed scored 20 for the central bankers.

Mohammad Asad extended his fine run with the bat with an unbeaten knock of 42 off 44 balls laced with one six and three fours. Naveed Khan made a steady 18 off 33 balls as Dawood Sports reached the target in the 16th. Four wickets were shared between left-arm spinners Kashif Bhatti and Kamran Ghulam.

In the other game, Atiq Estate, batting first, were routed for 92 in 17.3 overs by Heroes CC despite Khurram Manzoor’s 49 off 33 balls. The damage was done by the spin trio of Asif Ali (2-14), Sohrab Khan (2-17) and Waqas Satti (2-21).

Khurshid Shah, named Man of the Match, struck three sixes and one four in his unbeaten 40. Gohar Ali smashed four boundaries in his 24 to take Heroes CC to victory in the 17th over. Leg-spinner Kashif Siddiq (3-17) was the pick of the Atiq Estate bowlers.

 

K-Electric, Shameel Associates win in KG Ramazan T20

By our correspondent

KARACHI: K-Electric and Shameel Associates registered victories in the 31st Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival Twenty20 here at the Karachi Gymkhana Cricket Ground on Sunday.

K-Electric whipped Mohammad Hussain Cricket Club by seven wickets in their Group A fixture, while Shameel Associates edged out Anees Hussain Cricket Club by five runs in their Group C match which had to be shortened due to late arrival of both teams.

Openers Azam Khan (44 off 31 balls) and Arshad Azam (20 off 19 balls) scored 67 together in seven overs for Mohammad Hussain CC but they lost their way in the middle overs due to fine bowling from left-arm spinner Hasan Khan (3-28) and off-spinner Adeel Ameen (2-30). They eventually managed 143 for seven in 20 overs.

K-Electric chased down the target in 17.4 overs with Shafqatullah (49 off 38 balls) and opener Majid Khan (35 off 26 balls) putting on 64 for the second wicket.

Adeel Ameen remained undefeated on 27 off 22 balls and was adjudged Man of the Match.

In the earlier match, which became a 16-overs-a-side contest, Shameel Associates posted 108 for five with Tayyab Riaz (32 off 37 balls), Mohammad Sami (21 off 17 balls) and Sajjad Hasan (18 off 12 balls) doing the bulk of the scoring. Left-arm spinner Daniyal Khan (3-19) was the standout bowler for Anees Hussain CC.

A sensational collapse saw Anees Hussain CC crash from 89 for two to 103 all out.

The spin trio of Mohammad Sami (3-12), Moazzam Malik (2-12) and Haris Ayaz (2-27) turned it around for Shameel Associates after being dominated by Adeel Khan (32 off 18 balls), Arif Khan (25 off 21 balls) and Haq Nawaz (21 off 17 balls).

 

IAAF should be disbanded, says Russian Sports Minister

MOSCOW: Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Sunday the world athletics governing body, the IAAF, has unfairly shifted blame for the doping scandal onto Russia’s athletics federation and should be disbanded, R-Sport news agency reported.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Saturday backed the IAAF’s decision to extend its ban on Russia for systematic doping, ending any slim hopes that Russian athletes might have had of competing at the Rio Games in August.

The decision is being contested by the Russian athletes: race-walkers Denis Nizhegorodov and Svetlana Vasilyeva launched an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport over the decision to uphold the doping ban, which would bar them from competing in Rio, All Sport news agency reported.

The agency quoted Andrey Mitkov, a sports agent, as saying that the “class action” appeal will de delivered to the court in Lausanne on Tuesday.

The president of the IAAF Sebastian Coe has said that Russia has made some progress in tackling the use of prohibited substances by athletes, but it was “not enough” to lift the ban.

“In essence, by shifting the responsibility to the All-Russia Athletics Federation, they have exonerated themselves from responsibility. The IAAF should be disbanded,” Mutko was quoted as saying on Sunday.

The IAAF suspended Russia last year over concerns its athletes were guilty of systematic doping. 

 

Hend wins Queen’s Cup in Thailand by a stroke

BANGKOK: Big-hitting Australian Scott Hend overcame a two-shot deficit to win the Queen’s Cup here by a stroke on Sunday for his ninth title on the Asian Tour.

Hend carded a final-round four-under-par 67 for a total of 15-under 269 to finish ahead of home talent Gunn Charoenkul, who hit a bogey-free 66 on Sunday.

Overnight leader Prom Meesawat could only manage a 72 in the final round which gave him a share of the third spot at the Santiburi Samui Country Club in the Koh Samui island.

“I lost the tournament in Wentworth, lost the tournament in Mauritius and had chances in China. That’s four times this year and I didn’t win,” Hend said after his second title in the year.

“Whether this was my golf course or not, I’ve been playing very good golf and trying to not get down on myself. It’s nice to win again.”

Sunday’s win might push Hend closer to qualification for the Olympics in Rio, where golf will return for the first time after 1904.

“There are three more weeks for the Olympic qualifying,” said Hend, currently ranked 87th in the world.

“I’m 43 this year, who knows how much longer (I can play) although I’m getting better with age. It’ll be nice to go the Olympics and be one of the first Australians to play in it since golf’s re-inclusion,” he added.

“It’s all these different things that you chalk up in your career and when you’re finished, you just sit back and say this is what I did.”