Qasmi Gymkhana storm into KG Ramadan T20 final

KARACHI: Qasmi Gymkhana stormed into the final by overpowering Agha Steel by seven wickets in the second semi-final of Karachi Gymkhana Ramadan Festival T20 here at the KG Cricket Ground on Tuesday.

Qasmi Gymkhana, having demonstrated clinical approach throughout the competition, will now take on the high-flying Omar Cricket Club in the final on Wednesday (today). Agha Steel, who had looked a formidable outfit in the earlier games, succumbed to a below-par total of 136.

Batting first after winning the toss, Agha Steel got off to a scintillating start as opener Muhammad Afzal hit one six and four fours in his whirlwind 12-ball 25 in the first wicket stand of 30 in just two overs.

That remained the only point of the game when Agha Steel stood ahead of their rivals. The complexion of the contest changed from the next over. Skipper Ramiz Aziz’s 40 off 36 balls was the top score as wickets kept falling at the other end.

Tight spells from spinners Wasim Ali (2-22), Rizwan Khan (2-24) and Hasan Sardar (1-23) kept the rate of scoring low. Agha Steel were in danger of getting bowled out below 100 when their seventh wicket fell at 96 but a little cameo from Imran Ali (32 off 21 balls) lifted the total to 136.

Qasmi Gymkhana virtually seized a place in the final with the 69-run opening stand between Shahbaz Javed (71 off 54 balls) and Riaz Mirani (35 off 30 balls).The momentum was sustained by No 3 Bilal Irshad, who finished unbeaten on 25 off 11 balls as the winning runs came with nearly three overs to spare. Opener Shahbaz, who struck four sixes and three fours, was adjudged the Man of the Match.Agha Steel’s left-arm spinners Kashif Bhatti (2-26) and Hasan Mahmood (1-31) looked threatening but the score was too little to be defended.