Umair sparkles as Karachi Whites win U19 title

KARACHI: Umair Yousuf smashed a fine unbeaten 81 to enable Karachi Whites to win the title as they defeated Karachi Blues by eight wickets in the day-night final of the Inter-Region Under-19 One-day Cricket tournament at the Pindi Stadium, Rawalpindi, on Saturday night.

Umair smashed seven fours and three sixes in his gritty knock to enable Karachi Whites to reach the 187-run target in the 26th over after losing two wickets.

He was ably backed by Jehanzeb Sultan who chipped in with a solid 47-ball unbeaten 49, in which he hit three fours and two sixes.

Sufyan Khan contributed rapid 34-ball 47 with four hits to the fence. Ashir Qureshi got 2-55.

After opting to bat first, Karachi Blues’ batting failed to live up to the expectations and they were all out for 186 in the 46th over. Haider Ali (40) and Mohammad Zubair (37) offered some resistance. Ali smashed two fours from 55 balls, while Zubair cracked four fours from 41 deliveries.

Mohammad Ali Khan was the pick of the bowlers with 3-38, while Mohammad Tariq Khan got 2-28.

The winners received Rs200,000, while the runners-up went away with Rs100,000.

Besides, Rs25,000 each was given to Umair (best batsman, Karachi Whites, 653 runs), Ashir (best bowler, Karachi Blues, 24 wickets), Taha Khan (best all-rounder, Karachi Whites, 374 runs, 21 wickets) and Ali Khan (man-of-the-final, Karachi Whites).

Nasir Hussain and Aftab Gillani supervised the match. Zameer Haider served as the television umpire, Tanvir Afzal the referee, and Adnan Farooq the official scorer.