Azam bowls PQA to narrow win over ZTBL

Spinner bags four wickets in rain-shortened Ramazan T20 Cup match.

KARACHI: Left-arm spinner Azam Hussain claimed four wickets in a tough encounter to bowl Port Qasim Authority (PQA) to a six-run win on D/L method against ZTBL in their Advance Telecom Ramadan T20 Cup Group B match at the National Stadium, Karachi.

Set a target of 146, which was later revised by the D/L method to 112 due to a 45-minute rain delay, ZTBL could only managed 105 in 14 overs.

A late flurry from all-rounder Zafar Gohar (29) and Atif Ashraf (28) gave some hope to ZTBL, but PQA held onto their nerves.

Azam conceded only 17 runs in three overs for his wickets while Kamran Younis bagged the crucial wicket of Zafar in the end. Earlier, PQA had scored 145 for seven in 20 overs as Shahzaib Hasan top-scored with 48 off 42 balls. Afsar Nawaz chipped in with a 22-ball 23, while 19 extras were added to the score as well.

The highlight of the match was batsman Hussain Talat’s three wickets, while Zafar bagged two scalps.

Players unhappy with late timings

The match ended close to 0300 hours with players expressing their disappointment as they urged the Pakistan Cricket Board to revise the timings and take back the imposition of entrance fee on fans.

“We play for the public but the stands have remained woefully empty,” one of the players told The Express Tribune.

“The PCB should revise the timings to 2100 hours and should make entry free for our fans so that they can turn out in numbers.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 17^th, 2013.

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