Pakistan Veterans locked horns with Karachi Gymkhana in a bid to up the preparatory efforts for the upcoming Over 60s World Cup scheduled to be played in Brisbane from 2 to 15 September.
Karachi Gymkhana batted first in the 25 overs per side game and managed a decent total of 178 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in the allotted quota of overs. Muhammad Hussain looked in sublime touch as he played an elegant knock of 68 runs which included 3 fours and couple of maximums. Mehdi Rizvi also chipped in with a steady knock of 31. The late blitz from Sajid Ahmed ensured Gymkhana’s inning finishing on a high. Fawad Ijaz Khan was the pick of the bowlers from Veteran’s brigade with his figures of two wickets for 24 runs.
The Pakistan Veterans began with their chase in a rather bleak fashion as two wickets fell early in the process. Saghir Abbas then joined hands with Babar Basharat. The duo provided the much necessary consolidation to the innings. Saghir in particular appeared to be in groove and was threatening to take the game away from Gymkhana’s grip but Akhtar Muneer ensured that wasn’t the case, picking up the precious scalp. Cameos from Tahir Gul and Tahir Rasheed in the end remained inadequate to take their side over the line. Ultimately, the veteran’s remained short at the final hurdle, losing by nine runs. Muhammad Hussain was nominated as ‘Player of the Match’ for his master class innings.
The Pakistan Over 60s team will now be heading towards Australia where they will battle it out against top teams across the cricketing globe. They are placed in Group B, along with the following sides.
- South Africa
- New Zealand
- West Indies
- USA
- Rest of the World