Umar Enterprises edge Southend Club in KG Ramazan Cricket

KARACHI: Umar Enterprises registered an exciting nine-run victory over Southend Club in their Group B encounter of the 37th Karachi Gymkhana Ramazan Festival Cricket Tournament 2022 here at the KG Cricket Ground on Friday.

Batting first after winning the toss, Umar Enterprises posted a total of 182 for eight in 20 overs with Ali Iqbal (51 off 32 balls) being their top scorer. Other notable contributions came from Babar Malik (34 off 20 balls), Ali Izhar (27 off 28 balls) and Ali Raza (22 off 19 balls). The spin duo of Ashar Qureshi (3-37) and Badar Qureshi (2-21) was instrumental in keeping their total below 200.

Opener Ashar Khan’s solid half-century (51 off 42 balls) and breezy knocks from Azam Khushi (35 off 20 balls) and Sarfraz Khan (32 off 18 balls) brought Southend Club in the driving seat, but their progress was halted by off-spinner Inam Khan (4-24) and they were restricted to 173 for eight in 20 overs. Ali Iqbal of Umar Enterprises was declared the Man of the Match.

A total of 10 teams, divided equally in two groups, are contesting the tournament being played on round robin league basis. At the end of the preliminary rounds, the top two teams of both groups will be qualifying for the semifinals.