Arham CC, Saima Builders win matches in Dr M A Shah Trophy

KARACHI: Arham Cricket Club and Saima Builders prevailed over their respective opponents in Dr M A Shah Night Trophy Cricket Tournament here at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium.

Arham CC reached the quarter-finals as they defeated Pakistan Air Force (PAF) by seven wickets in their daylight fixture. Saima Builders also cruised into the quarter-finals by having overpowered Vizdom Ceramics by 37 runs later in the evening under floodlights.

Batting first after winning the toss, PAF amassed 192 for eight in the allotted 20 overs against Arham CC with Shahid Khan hammering four sixes and three fours in his whirlwind 73 off 40 balls. Ateeq Rahman struck a couple of boundaries in his sedate 27 off 23 balls. Medium-pacers Umair Yousuf (2-36) and Muhammad Umar (2-44) were the pick of the bowlers for Arham CC.

Umair then struck a scintillating 108 off 40 balls with a dozen sixes and four fours to power Arham CC’s chase. Usman Shah sustained the momentum with a fluent unbeaten 47 off 23 balls to take his team over the line with 7.3 overs remaining.

In the other match, Saima Builders, opting to bat first after calling correctly, posted 183 for seven against Vizdom Ceramics with flamboyant opener Imran Nazir stealing the limelight with a hurricane 77 off 44 balls which contained eight sixes and two fours.

Cameos from Agha Sabir (33 off 26 balls) and Fazal Subhan (25 off 12 balls) revived Saima Builders after they had been derailed by off-spinners Zeeshan Ahmed (3-34) and Imran Ali (2-31).

Vizdom Ceramics were bowled out for 146 in 18.1 overs with only Zeeshan Ahmed (31 off 21 balls) offering resistance against the spin duo of Raza Hasan (3-15) and Tahir Khan (3-30).