Five-star Wasim powers Qasmi Gymkhana into KG Ramadan T20 semis

By Syed Khalid Mahmood

June 09, 2018

KARACHI: Left-arm spinner Wasim Ali, with a five-wicket haul, powered Qasmi Gymkhana into the semi-finals as they overpowered Sindh Police by 28 runs in the second quarter-final of Karachi Gymkhana Ramadan Festival T20 here at the KG Cricket Ground on Friday.

Wasim, who opened the bowling, ran through the top-order before returning to clean up the tail as Sindh Police were bowled out for 148 in 19 overs while chasing 177. He was adjudged Man of the Match.

Batting first, Qasmi Gymkhana got off to a flying start with 49 runs coming in the six overs of power play. Opener Riaz Morani led the charge by whacking two sixes and one four in his 31 off 27 balls. No 3 Bilal Irshad was even more aggressive, clobbering a couple of sixes and as many fours in his 36 off 25 balls.

Sindh Police succeeded in applying the brakes in the middle overs through their spinners but cameos in the death overs by Muhammad Faizan (33 off 24 balls) and Kamran Hussain (30 off 15 balls) lifted the total to 176 for eight off 20 overs.

Left-arm spinner Ali Asghar was the pick of the bowlers, returning the figures of two for 19 off 3.3 overs. Off-spinners Noman Khan and Ammar Hasan were also impressive while sending down economical spells.

The loss of three top order wickets inside the power play overs didn’t help the cause of Sindh Police in pursuit of a target of 178. Shaharyar Ghani revived their hopes by whacking half a dozen sixes and one four in his exhilarating 61 off 38 balls.

Wickets, however, kept tumbling at the other end and Wasim Ali’s second spell was as lethal as his first one, sealing the fate of the match. While he picked up five wickets, no other bowler could get more than one.

Qasmi Gymkhana joined hosts Karachi Gymkhana in the semi-finals line-up. Omar Cricket Club and New Al Habib Cricket Club will lock horns in the third quarter-final on Saturday (today). Agha Steel will be up against Sparco Paints in the last quarter-final on Sunday (tomorrow). The semi-finals will be held on Monday and Tuesday and the final on Wednesday.