Hammad Azam played an inspirational knock to help Pakistan U23 set up an exciting final against traditional rivals India U23. PHOTO: FILE AFP
Captain Hammad Azam led from the front to help Pakistan U23 overcome Sri Lanka U23 in a thrilling one-wicket win in the ACC Emerging Teams Cup semi-final in Singapore, confirming a place in the final against India U23 tomorrow.
Hammad scored an unbeaten half-century to take his side from tatters as they achieved the 231-run target.
The run-chase was shaky right from the beginning with in-form opening batsman Babar Azam getting out on a golden duck. None of the other top-order batsmen succeeded in earning a major contribution with Azeem Gumman (22) and Usman Salahuddin (31) being the top scorers from the lot.
Pakistan were struggling at 129 for seven in the 32nd over before the captain began the rescue mission. He played aggressively, scoring 66 off 69, aided with two boundaries and three sixes, to steer Pakistan to the target in the penultimate over with Sri Lanka U23 just a wicket away from victory.
Hammad’s efforts could not have yielded the desirable result without a valuable knock by Bilalwal Bhatti, who chipped in with 25 runs while batting at ninth position.
Qadir shines with five-wicket haul
Earlier, leg-spinner Usman Qadir, son of the legendary Abdul Qadir, grabbed a five-wicket haul to confine Sri Lanka U23 to 230 for seven in 50 overs.
Udara Jayasundera (94) and Shehan Jayasuriya (33) were the main contributors.
Qadir conceded just 32 runs from his ten overs while Raza Hasan and Mohammad Nawaz took one wicket each. Hammad was named the man of the match.
India U23 defeat UAE
In the other semi-final, India U23 enjoyed an easy sailing into the final, outclassing the UAE by 46 runs.
Inspired by a 76-run knock from Manprit Juneja, the winners managed to score 208 in 49.5 overs despite a five-wicket haul by Nasir Aziz. Mohammad Naveed was also impressive, claiming three wickets in his spell.
In reply, the UAE failed to achieve the target getting dismissed for 162 in 48.3 overs. Akshar Patel was the chief tormentor with figures of four for 29 for India U23.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 24th, 2013.
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