Mahmood Ahmad
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2nd Semi Final: Rawalpindi v Sheikhupura at Lahore, 10 May 2001 Mahmood Ahmad |
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Sheikhupura Cricket Association innings:
Rawalpindi Cricket Association innings: Pre-game: |
Kashif Raza turned out the main weapon in Sheikhupura artillery, as he grabbed another important wicket in his second spell, that of Nadeem Abbasi, to finish with magnificent figures of 4 for 37 in 10 overs.
The lanky right-hander was well supported in his endeavors by Mohammad Haroon who bagged two wickets for 41. Imran Nazir and Qaiser Abbas got one wicket each for 6 and 35 respectively, as Rawalpindi were bundled out for 182 inside 45 overs.
After seeing off the dangerous Kashif and Aaqib in their opening spells, Nadeem and Tassawar played the spinners with much more ease as they posted their 150 in the 37th over. The game could have gone their way had they spent some more time in the middle.
However, that wasn’t to be. The introduction of Kashif Raza for his second spell brought a much-awaited breakthrough. Nadeem, who hitherto had batted with utter concentration, went to pull a ball that was pitched on the off, and all he could do was to watch helplessly as the ball knocked his off stump down. Nadeem missed his fifty by just one ball after facing 73 balls, which contained five boundaries.
As often happens with partnerships, the dismissal of one batsman was immediately followed by departure of the other. However, the departure in this case, of Tassawar, at 161, was not brought about by any bowler, rather it was Mohammad Haroon’s throw from covers that ran the batsman out. Tassawar made a fine 33 off 67 balls and hit one four.
After that, it was just a matter of time before the remaining amount of resistance left Rawalpindi. They were all out for 182 in 44.1 overs, as the last man Junaid Zia was stumped by Sarfraz Kazmi off Qaiser Abbas.
Kashif Raza, operating from the Pavilion End, started the rot by dismissing two batsmen – Hashim Iqbal and Naeem Akhtar – in consecutive overs. After getting the left-handed Hashim (5 off 12 balls) caught by the wicket keeper in the second over, he induced pinch-hitter Naeem (7 off 7 balls)to sky the ball to point in the very next over, leaving Rawalpindi reeling at 22 for 2 by the 6th over.
Then it was the skipper’s turn to strike. After conceding two fours in his fourth over, he had Naved Ashraf caught behind the wicket for 8 (12 balls, 2 fours). Nadeem Hussain, who had thus far looked very solid, was swayed by a short one from Aaqib, as the right-hander was well taken by a diving Mohammad Ayub at deep mid wicket. He made 20 after facing 41 balls.
Rawalpindi reached their fifty on the fourth ball of the 12th over. However, disaster struck again when Kashif found the stumps of Nauman Aman on the last ball of the same over. Nauman made 4 off 13 balls, as his side was reduced to 52 for 5.
Wasim Ahmed, the new batsman, started off in an aggressive fashion, getting 11 off 6 balls before becoming victim of adventurous running. He was found well short of his crease, when going for a second run off Mohammad Javed at fine leg. That left Rawalpindi in deep mire at 73 for 6 in the 15th over.
Thereafter, its was Tassawar Hussain and Nadeem Abbasi, as they did not only defy the bowling attack but also found some quick runs, taking the score to 100 by the 22nd over.
At the half way stage of their innings, Rawalpindi are still struggling at 116 for 6, with Nadeem batting on 21 off 34 balls and Tassawar on 18 off 33 balls.
For Sheikhupura, Kashif Raza has claimed 3 wickets for 32 in 6 overs, whereas Aaqib has got 2 for 24 in 7 overs.
The total looks even better considering their position in the first 15 overs, when Naeem Akhtar had crippled their top order with a three-wicket haul. At this stage, Mohammad Ayub and Mohammad Haroon batted with a lot of responsibility, as they added 96 for the 5th wicket in around 27 overs, before falling in successive overs.
After taking some time to settle down, these two batted with a lot more authority especially after the introduction of spinners from both ends. While Ayub showed his command over sweeps shots, Haroon relied mainly on drives in front of the wicket.
Initially the runs had come mainly in one’s and two’s but with the passage of time they were able to find a few boundaries as well, which helped in maintaining a steady run rate of around four an over.
Immediately after reaching the 150-run mark in the 37th over, they looked for acceleration, getting 10 off left-arm spinner Wasim Ahmed’s second over. However, after hitting his 5th boundary in the next over by Wasim, Haroon holed out the next one straight into the hands of Nauman Aman at long off. He made 41 off 83 balls.
Ayub meanwhile reached his fifty off 98 balls, but not before he had been dropped twice, first when he was on 29 and the second time when on 46. However, after the departure of his partner, he apparently lost his concentration. He had made 57 (106 balls, 3 fours) before scooping a flighted ball from Iftikhar Mahmood straight to Naved Ashraf at point.
The skipper Aaqib Javed had but a brief stay at the crease. He had made 8 off 7 balls, when going for a sweep shot, he was caught at deep square leg boundary.
Thereafter, it was all Sarfraz Kazmi and Nasim Abbas, as they made the most of a tired looking Rawalpindi attack, getting 30 off the last 12 balls of their innings. Sarfraz hit 5 fours and a six to score an unbeaten 45 off 32 ball, whereas Nasim compiled 20 off 13 ball, which contained a four and a six.
Iftikhar Mahmood finished his ten overs with figures of 2 for 34 and Naved Ashraf got one wicket for 51 in 7 overs.
Naeem Akhtar, the lanky right-handed pace man, made the most of seam and swing in the wicket to claim three wickets, including the prize scalp of Imran Nazir, putting Sheikhupura on the defensive at the midway stage of the innings.
After having Imran caught by wicket keeper Nadeem Abbasi, he struck twice in his 6th and 7th overs, getting rid of Qaiser Abbas (18 off 24 ball, 2 fours) and Mohammad Shahbaz for naught (2 balls).
Naeem was well supported by Mohammad Fayyaz who was operating from the College End. The right-handed seamer dismissed Javed Hussain (2 off 15 balls) in his 5th over, after conceding 10 runs in his first, which contained 3 no balls and 2 wides.
The fall of four quick wickets put breaks on the scoring rate, as both Mohammad Ayub and Mohammad Haroon took their time to settle down. Sheikhupura reached the hundred of the innings in 23.4 overs, as Haroon drove left-arm leg spinner Iftikhar Mahmood to long on for an easy single.
At the 25-overs stage, Ayub was batting on 17 (55 balls, 1 four) and Haroon is not out on 10 (35 balls, 1 four).
Naeem Akhtar, the most successful bowler for Rawalpindi, has three wickets in his bag for 40. Mohammad Fayyaz has got one wicket for 41, having completed his quota of ten overs. Junaid Zia has bowled five overs for 17, whereas Iftikhar has conceded 3 runs in 2 overs.
Against all expectations, not a soul has turned up to witness this expectedly absorbing encounter between two accomplished sides of Pakistan’s domestic circuit.
It is for the first time in the tournament that Sheikhupura would be batting second, having won all their Pool matches while chasing runs. It would thus be a big challenge for them to post a fighting total on the board, so as to maintain their winning streak.
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Date-stamped : 10 May2001 - 18:25