KARACHI: Asad Shah’s unbeaten half-century in the first innings led Clifton Popular to a comfortable seven-wicket victory over DHA Dabangs in the opening match of the 4th season of the Karachi Tape Ball Premier League (KTPL) here at the Moin Khan Academy here in Saturday.
Batting first, the Dabangs amassed 103/2 in their first innings, thanks to a dominant 81-run opening partnership between captain Taimoor Mirza and Arsalan Jamshed.
The opening pair dominated the Popular bowlers until Ali Imran got rid of Arsalan before dismissing Shah Raza for a golden duck off the next delivery.
Arsalan hit three fours and four sixes on his way to a 16-ball 40.
Meanwhile, Taimoor maintained his firm position and bolstered Dabangs’ total by hitting 22 runs in the final over. He remained his team’s leading run-scorer in the first innings with an unbeaten 53 off 20 deliveries, hitting one four and six sixes.
In response, Popular amassed 139/1 and secured a useful 36-run lead, courtesy of an unbeaten 87-run partnership for the second wicket between captain Asad and Hassan Qadeer.
Asad was the main aggressor in the stand that defined the match, scoring 51 off just 16 deliveries, while Qadeer contributed 13-ball 46s.
Muhammad Hasnain took the solitary wicket for the Dabangs in the first innings.
Trailing by 36 runs, the Dabangs could score 98/3 in the second innings and thus set Popular a modest target of 63 runs.
Taimoor also top-scored for the Dabangs in the second innings with his 31 off 12 balls. He was followed by Shah Raza who made 28 off 10 deliveries.
Set to chase down 63, a combined batting effort saw Popular comfortably knock in the winning runs, losing just three wickets and seven balls remaining.
Asad Shah backed up his maiden innings half-century with a five-ball 14, while Hassan Qadeer (13), Waseem Lefti (11*) and Fahad Mian Chunnu (10) also made notable contributions.
For his attempt to win the match, Asad was named the best player of the match.
