NAZEER HUSSAIN GYMKHANA vs ICT
14TH CHALLENGERS’ CUP FINAL
The atmosphere was buzzing in the Al-Mansoora Cricket Ground as Nazeer Hussain Gymkhana and ICT clashed for the title of the 14th Challengers’ Cup. Nazeer Hussain Gymkhana had a very shaky start as they lost their first opener who lost his wicket without troubling the scorers. But soon the momentum was shifted back as Amin scored 20 runs off just 7 balls with a very healthy strike rate of 285.71. Unfortunately the rest of the top order just did not click for the Nazeer Hussain Gymkhana. After what can be termed as an ordinary show by the top order, it was Hammad Mughal and Hassan Qazi who took the responsibility to post a reasonable score on the board. They scored 40 and 27 respectively. In the end there was some contribution by Usman Ghani enabling Nazeer Hussain Gymkhana to score 139 for 8 at the end of 20 overs. Hassnain Iqbal bowled wisely taking frequent breakthroughs. His excellent bowling figures of 4 for 21 in 4 overs represent his authority on the field.
Chasing 140, ICT started off their innings pretty decently as their openers provided the needed stability. Imran Sheikh and Adeel Khan scored 20 and 14 runs respectively. This was a prelude for an all-round batting performance by the ICT as the rest of the lot kept contributing with the bat. Faisal Amin’s economical spell was something challenging for the ICT batsmen as they managed to score only 15 runs in his 3 overs. In the end it was 39 runs off 33 balls by Saad Rehan along with Taqi Azad’s knock of 21 runs off 17 balls, which enabled ICT to chase the target in the 18th over. ICT won the final by 6 wickets.
It was a moment full of excitement as ICT were crowned champions of the 14th Challengers’ Cup
