Karachi Blues upset Islamabad in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy
The Karachi Blues tasted success at last, after a run of poor performances in the 2010-11 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One, as they defeated Islamabad by 120 runs at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Although Islamabad has not done that well either this
season, but it is still a kind of an upset considering the fact that Karachi Blues have lost weaker teams in Division One. Islamabad’s young side have impressed everyone this season after being put alongside strong opponents in Division One.
Islamabad won the toss and elected to bowl first on a track that was offering a lot of assistance to the seam bowlers. However, Karachi Blues put in a decent batting performance under trying circumstances, and posted 237 runs in 64.1 overs on the first day.
Middle order batsman Atif Ali was the top-scorer for the visitors, with a well-made 64 off 101 balls with the help of six boundaries. Top-order batsmen Rameez Raja, Murtaza Majeed and Asad Baig also got starts but could not carry on. Islamabad’s fast bowlers
shared the majority of the first innings wickets, as Nasrullah Khan, Fakahar Hussain and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rauf-c84151 Akbar claimed three scalps each. All-rounder Zeeshan Mustaq also picked up a wicket.
In reply, the home team came up with a better effort in the first innings and scored 286 runs. As a result, they took a 49-run lead in the first innings, and deprived Karachi Blues of three crucial points. Opener http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nauman-Masood-c78862 played a brilliant knock, and
scored 66 runs off 146 balls, which included nine boundaries. Imad Wasim also scored a half-century, as he made 56 runs off 79 balls. Rauf Akbar also played a good hand, batting at number nine, and scored 49 crucial runs. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Babar-Rehman-c47132 took three wickets, as
Akbar ur Rehman, Adeel Malik and Saeed Bin http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Nasir-c78728 picked up two wickets each.
In their second innings, Karachi Blues showed some consistency with their batting, and scored 257 runs, which was a good score considering the situation of the match. Atif Ali impressed yet again with his second half-century of the match, as he scored 53
runs for the visitors off 113 balls, with the help of seven fours. Murtaza Majeed scored 46 runs off 86 balls, and struck six boundaries boundaries in the knock. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 Under-19 captain, Imad Wasim picked up three wickets each
for Islamabad.
In the last innings of the match Islamabad required 210 runs to win, but surprisingly the whole team succumbed under pressure, and was bundled out for a mere 89 runs. This was a huge disappointment for the home team’s fans, as Islamabad’s young guns have
put up a good fight throughout the season. Rumman Raees and Akbar ur Rehman picked up three wickets each, while Adeel Malik and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Tabish-Khan-c92563 took two wickets each for the visitors.
With this victory in the ninth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2010-11, Karachi Blues have moved up to 10th position on the points table with nine points. On the other hand, Islamabad have slumped to 11th position
because of an inferior run-rate.
Tags: