Gujranwala U-19 beat Karachi U-19 by 51 runs to claim the limited oversfinal of the Pepsi Junior Under 19 Tournament (Grade I) played at thelush green KRL cricket ground, Rawalpindi

Mahmood Ahmad12-Oct-2000Gujranwala U-19 beat Karachi U-19 by 51 runs to claim the limited oversfinal of the Pepsi Junior Under 19 Tournament (Grade I) played at thelush green KRL cricket ground, Rawalpindi. The four-day final betweenthe two teams would be played at the same venue from tomorrow.Put into bat by Karachi Under-19s, Gujranwala Under-19s lost their firstwicket with just 20 runs on the board. A second wicket partnership of103 between Atiq-ur-Rehman and Kamran Younis at this stage did not onlytake their score to safety but it also seemed that Gujranwala will beable to post a huge total.However, with the fall of Atiq at the individual score of 54, theGujranwala players appeared to have lost their way. It was not long afterthat the wicket of dangerous looking Kamran was also taken at the scoreof 147. Kamran played a fine knock of 63 off 91 balls.With both Kamran and Atiq now back in the pavilion, the Gujranwalabatsmen could not find enough grit and determination to take their sideto a big total. Naeem-ud-Din, the stylish left-hander, was the onlyother player who could take his score past 20. However, he too was slowin batting as he took 49 balls to reach 21 runs.The rest of the Gujranwala batsmen just gave in under the pressureapplied by Karachi players’ good fielding and bowling. They could gathera total of only 41 in the last 10 overs as they lost 6 wickets duringthis period. The Gujranwala innings came to a close at 218 in the 48.5overs.Azam Hussain, the left-arm spinner from Karachi, took three wickets for41 runs in 9 overs. The other successful bowlers were Faraz Ahmed andAftab Ahmed with figures of 3/47 and 1/34, respectively. The other threewickets to fall were all run outs.Requiring 219 to win in their 50 overs, the Karachi side started offaggressively despite losing the early wicket of Khalid Latif at thescore of 16. They reached their fifty in only the 6th over without anyfurther success for the fielding side.However, with the loss in quick succession of Mohammad Farooq, theskipper of the Karachi side and Mushtaq Afridi, the younger brother ofthe hard-hitting Shahid Afridi, brought real troubles for the battingside. Farooq scored 14 from 28 deliveries whereas Afridi could get onlyone run in the ten balls that he faced.Seeing that the wicket was taking the turn, the Gujranwala captain appliedspinners from both ends in short spells, ensuring thatthe batsmen just do not adjust themselves to the playing conditions.It was mainly due to this tactic that the Karachi side, which boasted ofa fairly long batting line up, was reduced to 102 for 6 by the 29thover. Realising that they had grabbed the initiative from theiropponents, the Gujranwala bowlers attacked with more ferocity and vigor,making life extremely miserable for the batsmen.Ashraf Ali, the right-handed opener, was the only batsman who could putsome resistance against the Gujranwala bowlers. However, his run out atthe individual score of 46, rendered the Karachi line up virtually atthe mercy of the opposition.The late order of Karachi, comprising of Amin-ur-Rehman (18), AzamHussain (14), and Aftab Ahmed (14), did spend some time at the crease,but their efforts were just not enough to overhaul the target. Karachiwas all out for a mere 167 in the 47th over, in the end conceding thematch quite easily.Every Gujranwala bowler was among wickets. However, Kamran Hussain andthe skipper Bilal Hussain were the pick of the lot with figures of 2/20and 2/25, respectively.The victory in this match has certainly shifted the odds in favour ofthe Gujranwala side to win the four-day contest, too. However, oneexpects that the Karachi players would learn from their mistakes and putup a brave show in the coming match in order to avenge their defeat atthe hands of their rivals.