Abdullah powers Ibrahim Ali Bhai School into final

KARACHI: Skipper Abdullah Zareen blasted a sensational, unbeaten knock of 152 runs as Al Fatima Academy overpowered Ibrahim Ali Bhai Secondary School by six wickets to storm into the final of PVCA-EBM Inter-School Cricket Tournament here at the Eastern Star Ground the other day.

The wicketkeeper-opener of Al Fatima Academy, Abdullah, led by example to earn the Man of the Match award for his 152 off 101 balls which allowed his team to reach the target of 266 with almost 10 overs to spare.

Earlier, Ibrahim Ali Bhai Secondary School posted 265 for eight in the allotted 40 overs.Batting first, after winning the toss, Ibrahim Ali Bhai Secondary School laid the foundation for a big total as opener Irfanullah smashed a couple of towering sixes along with 11 fours in his enterprising 86 off 65 balls. He added 112 for second wicket with captain Muhammad Abbas, who contributed 49 off 67 balls with the help of a solitary boundary.

Another fluent partnership for third wicket between Muhammad Abbas and Muhammad Bilal saw the total surge past 150 in the 27th over with only a couple of wickets down.

Al Fatima Academy pulled it back through their spinners who took wickets at regular intervals to keep the rate of scoring in check despite a fine knock from Zia-ur-Rahman who remained undefeated on 61 off 45 balls, hitting two sixes and six fours.

Leg-spinner Daniyal Ali (2-23) and medium-pacer Okasha Ali (2-49) were instrumental in limiting Ibrahim Ali Bhai Secondary School to a total of 265.

The target was expected to test Al Fatima Academy but the forceful 175-run second-wicket partnership in less than 20 overs between Abdullah Zareen and Muhammad Abbas made the knockout game a one-sided affair in the end.

Muhammad Abbas was dismissed after scoring 69 off 52 balls with the help of 12 boundaries, but Abdullah Zareen finished the job in style, hammering as many as 25 boundaries in his unbeaten 152. Off-spinner Ziaullah (2-51) was the pick of the bowlers but he too was unable to stem the flow of runs.The final of the tournament is scheduled to be held here at the National Stadium on December 30.