Discarded Irfan powers Omar Associates into final

KARACHI: Discarded Pakistan fast bowler, Muhammad Irfan, claimed three wickets in a fiery spell to power Omar Associates into the final of the 5th Naya Nazimabad Ramazan Cup Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2018 as they whipped Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) by 47 runs in the first semifinal, under floodlights, here at the Hussain Lawai Stadium late on Saturday night.

The lanky left-handed speedster Irfan picked up three wickets for 11 runs in 3.2 overs while left-arm spinner Muhammad Asif chipped in with three wickets for seven runs as SSGC chasing 145 for victory in 20 overs, was bowled out for 97 in the 17th over.

Irfan collected Rs 20,000 Man of the Match award from former Federal Finance Minister Miftah Ismail, who was chief guest. The President of Summit Bank, Hussain Lawai, ex-FCCPI President, Zubair Tufail, President-Elect, KCCA Nadeem Omer, and Chairman, Arif Habib Group, Arif Habib, were also present on the occasion. Despite chasing what looked like a modest target in given conditions, the SSGC batsmen were guilty of committing unforced errors which undid the good work of their own bowlers in the first half of the game.

Confronted by an agile opposition, SSGC could not recover from the shock of losing wickets upfront in the knockout out game. The prolific opener Shan Masood was caught in the deep off Muhammad Nawaz for nine while Irfan removed captain Umar Amin (5), hard-hitting Muhammad Ahmed (7) and Adil Amin (16) become Muhammad Asghar’s victim as SSGC slumped to 38 for four.

International Aamir Yamin fought the lost battle in the end with an unbeaten 26 off 14 balls with two towering sixes and as many fours. Adil Amin (16), Maqbool Ahmed (14) and Muhammad Irfan Jr (10) were the only others to reach double figures as the SSGC innings folded for a paltry 97 in 16.2 overs.

Earlier Omar Associates, after some hiccups, reached 144 for the loss of eight wickets in the allotted 20 overs thanks to fighting captain’s innings of 41 by Saad Nasim off just 22 balls which was studded with five massive sixes which entertained the large crowd. Tension and anxiety gripped the Omar Associates dugout for a while but their never-say-die approach pulled them out of tight situation. They were initially jolted by left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti after he took the prized scalps of power hitters Umar Akmal (16) and Sami-ur-Rehman (6) after they won the toss and elected to bat first.

Besides the onslaught from Saad Nasim, they were also rescued by the brief cameos from Muhammad Nawaz (24) and Usman Khan (22). Tight bowling from Muhammad Irfan Jr. (2-17) and Zafar Gohar (2-24) ensured that the Omar Associates total was kept below 150.