Pakistan Defeats England to Keep Semifinal hopes Intact

Pakistan has secured a vital victory against England by 40 runs in the Round 5 Match of Over 50s Cricket World Cup played at Rondebosch Cricket Club, Cape Town South Africa.

England Over 50s team after winning the toss opted to field first. Brief partnerships all along the pathway resulted in Pakistan managing a cumulative sum of 234-8 in their allotted quota of 45 overs. Jamshaid Ali remained the highest scorer with his quality knock of 55(63) which included 3 fours and a couple of maximums. Mohammad Azher Khan & Nafees Ali Khan chipped in with their cameos of 36 and 31 respectively. Mehboob Elahi was the pick of the bowlers for England as he grabbed three wickets for 51 runs. Sean Cooper and Steve Chapman took two wickets each.

England in their chase was initially reduced to 42-2 at the 10.2 over mark but a 91-run stand for the third wicket between Naseer Ahmed and Richard Trotman brought the Englishmen back in the contest. Naseer Ahmed in particular looked in fine touch and played an impressive knock of 55(65) which included 5 fours and 2 sixes. Afterward, the Pakistani bowlers roared back into the match and took the last 8 wickets for just 61 runs. Naeem Tayyab remained the standout with his spell of 3-32. Muhammad Jaffar Qureshi, Muhammad Rauf Wain and Imtiaz Ahmad were equally imposing with their gritty bowling as the trio managed to pick two wickets each. Jamshaid Ali was declared ‘Player of the Match’.

In other Round 5 clashes of Over 50s Cricket World Cup, from Pool A: Australia defeated Canada by five wickets. West Indies won their match against USA by 13 runs. Zimbabwe triumphed in their encounter against Sri Lanka by three wickets.

In Pool B: India beat UAE by 90 runs. Whereas, Wales outplayed Namibia defeating them by a hefty margin of 181 runs.