Omar CC regain KG Ramadan T20 title

KARACHI: Omar Cricket Club (OCC) regained the title by edging out Qasmi Gymkhana by three runs in a thrilling final of Karachi Gymkhana Ramadan Festival Twenty20 here at the KG Cricket Ground on Wednesday.

With four runs needed from the last ball it was anybody’s game until the very end. Omar CC felt hard done at the decision of umpires Riazuddin and Muhammad Shakil not to allow them a substitute fielder in place of Umar Akmal. They had to field with 10 men for the better part of their opponents’ innings.Put into bat, Omar CC had to be content with a total of 179 for nine.

Fine knocks from opener Ahsan Ali (44 off 25 balls), Rameez Raja (44 off 21 balls) and Danish Aziz (45 off 35 balls) allowed them to reach 110 at the halfway stage but they were unable to make the most of it.

Qasmi Gymkhana fought back through the spin duo of Hasan Sardar (3-18) and Wasim Ali (2-41). Medium pacer Kamran Hussain (2-26) also bowled well.Qasmi Gymkhana got off to a sluggish start, scoring 70 in the first 10 overs and losing four wickets. But breezy knocks from Kamran Hussain (41 off 21 balls) and Faizan Ahmed (25 off 13 balls) opened up the game.

Left-arm spinners Muhammad Asghar (3-18), named Man of the Match, and Irfan Gohar (3-37) played the lead role in restricting Qasmi Gymkhana to 176 for eight.

Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA) president Nadeem Omar gave the winners’ trophy and a purse of Rs800,000 to Omar CC skipper Saad Nasim. A cheque of Rs400,000 was collected with the runners-up trophy by Qasmi Gymkhana captain Abid Qasmi.

Usman Khan of Omar CC was declared the Man of the Tournament, while Bilal Irshad (Qasmi Gymkhana), Faraz Ahmed Khan (Omar CC), Rameez Raja (Omar CC) and Hasan Mustafa (Qasmi Gykhahana) were adjudged as the best batsman, the best bowler, the best fielder and the best wicketkeeper, respectively.

Pakistan Cricket Board’s former chief Arif Ali Abbasi, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association’s chairman Fawad Ijaz Khan and Karachi Gymkhana president Mazhar Iqbal Puri were also present in the ceremony.