149/10 (17.3)
CR : 8.51
206/3 (20.0)
CR : 10.30
Karachi Region Blues won by 57 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Shahnawaz Dahani
4/24
Over 18
Lahore Region Blues 149/10
Mohammad Rizwan JNR4(3)
Ali Raza II2(2)
Jahandad Khan4-25(3.3)
KARB won by 57 runs
1:39 AM IST, 1:09 AM local time: The defending champions felt the blues (pun very much intended). Lahore Region Blues lose by 57 runs and not only get eliminated of this tournament, but also have get relegated — this means that they will have to play the qualifiers next year.
To be fair, they were outplayed in all departments tonight. Effervescence up top from Ahsan Ali, Shah Raza Naqvi and Usman Khan laid the foundation for Karachi Region Blues and the impressive unbeaten 45-ball-89* run partnership between Said Baig and Usman Rahim led them to a monumental first innings score of 206/3. Baig, in particular, starred with a sparkling 72* (37) which was studded with 7 cracking fours and 4 impressive sixes.
Interestingly, left arm spinner Mohammad Rizwan Jr. — who picked 2 wickets in 2 overs — did not bowl a third. Was it to do with the presence of two left-handers in the middle for the major part of the innings? Only the captain can answer.
Lahore Region Blues' run chase went nowhere. They lost their in-form opener Umar Siddique in the first over itself. Though, the southpaw will tell you that he was on the receiving end of a wrong decision. He seemed adamant about having edged the ball and that thereby, should not have been given out LBW. It all only went downhill from there. They lost 4 wickets in the powerplay itself.
The only time things seemed hopeful for them was when Asad Akhtar bowled a 21-run over which two wides and two no-balls including an overstepping of well over a foot. Riding on the momentum gained from it, Saad Nasim did notch-up a 33-ball-47, but could not get his team anywhere close.
Among the bowlers, Shahnawaz Dahani hogged the limelight with an energetic spell of 4/24. Jahandad Khan too finished with 4 wickets to his name. Hence, Karachi Region Blues win and live to see another day in this tournament.
To be fair, they were outplayed in all departments tonight. Effervescence up top from Ahsan Ali, Shah Raza Naqvi and Usman Khan laid the foundation for Karachi Region Blues and the impressive unbeaten 45-ball-89* run partnership between Said Baig and Usman Rahim led them to a monumental first innings score of 206/3. Baig, in particular, starred with a sparkling 72* (37) which was studded with 7 cracking fours and 4 impressive sixes.
Interestingly, left arm spinner Mohammad Rizwan Jr. — who picked 2 wickets in 2 overs — did not bowl a third. Was it to do with the presence of two left-handers in the middle for the major part of the innings? Only the captain can answer.
Lahore Region Blues' run chase went nowhere. They lost their in-form opener Umar Siddique in the first over itself. Though, the southpaw will tell you that he was on the receiving end of a wrong decision. He seemed adamant about having edged the ball and that thereby, should not have been given out LBW. It all only went downhill from there. They lost 4 wickets in the powerplay itself.
The only time things seemed hopeful for them was when Asad Akhtar bowled a 21-run over which two wides and two no-balls including an overstepping of well over a foot. Riding on the momentum gained from it, Saad Nasim did notch-up a 33-ball-47, but could not get his team anywhere close.
Among the bowlers, Shahnawaz Dahani hogged the limelight with an energetic spell of 4/24. Jahandad Khan too finished with 4 wickets to his name. Hence, Karachi Region Blues win and live to see another day in this tournament.
Time for the post-match presentation.
Player of the Match: Shahnawaz Dahani
Shahnawaz Dahani (Player of the Match): "(Feelings after winning the match?) Personally it feels good. It was a must win game for our team. The entire crowd came and was cheering out Dahani. I thought of doing something for them and thanks to the almighty that the execution was great.
(On crowd support) Every player has their own way of taking wickets and celebrating. Dahani too has one and crowd motivates me by cheering up. I am thankful to the Peshawar crowd for coming and supporting me.
(How was the pitch?) Wicket was a bit different. I got two wickets bowling slowers. I had the chat with captain and coach about going for wickets from the start and hit the hard length."
(On crowd support) Every player has their own way of taking wickets and celebrating. Dahani too has one and crowd motivates me by cheering up. I am thankful to the Peshawar crowd for coming and supporting me.
(How was the pitch?) Wicket was a bit different. I got two wickets bowling slowers. I had the chat with captain and coach about going for wickets from the start and hit the hard length."
Saad Nasim (Lahore Region Blues captain): "(Where did it go wrong in this campaign?) We changed the combination too. It is a short format, we had only 4 games. We were missing some big players too. We had some youngsters too. We tried all combinations. But we did not play good cricket. Our experienced bowlers too did not bowl well.
(On not giving Mohammad Rizwan Jr. a third over) That was a mistake. I thought that the off spinner could get a wicket against two lefties. We did not play good cricket.
(Positives?) Hamza Zahoor played well. Ali Razzaq has played well. Rizwan was good with the ball. These are the positives."
(On not giving Mohammad Rizwan Jr. a third over) That was a mistake. I thought that the off spinner could get a wicket against two lefties. We did not play good cricket.
(Positives?) Hamza Zahoor played well. Ali Razzaq has played well. Rizwan was good with the ball. These are the positives."
Rameez Aziz (Karachi Region Blues Captain): "(Who deserves the credit for the victory?) When you win, the credit goes to the entire team. But we have to highlight a few performances. Saad Baig batted brilliantly. Ahsan and Usman were great. Usman also finished really well. Hope they bring a good future to the Karachi Blues.
(On Shah Raza Naqvi) In the last few games, we had to bat him lower down the order. But today we dropped Jahanzaib and played him. It went well.
(On the semi-final hope) In cricket, you never know what is going to happen. Two other teams are there and they will have face-offs. Until the results come, you can't say anything.
(Are you staying in Peshawar until those results come?) Yes we have to stay."
(On Shah Raza Naqvi) In the last few games, we had to bat him lower down the order. But today we dropped Jahanzaib and played him. It went well.
(On the semi-final hope) In cricket, you never know what is going to happen. Two other teams are there and they will have face-offs. Until the results come, you can't say anything.
(Are you staying in Peshawar until those results come?) Yes we have to stay."
The defending champions have been knocked out. Meanwhile, Karachi Blues Region will now have to hope for two one-sided games so that the net run rate of other contenders pummels and they somehow get through to the knockouts.
Will the cricketing gods be kind to them? We will find out together in the upcoming days. For now, this is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Saptak Sanyal and Zeeshan Naiyer signing off. Ciao!
Will the cricketing gods be kind to them? We will find out together in the upcoming days. For now, this is the troika of Darpan Tikiya, Saptak Sanyal and Zeeshan Naiyer signing off. Ciao!