Karachi Blues suffer another defeat

Karachi, Nov 25: It was more a case of Karachi Blues losing than Lahore Blues achieving an unlikely victory in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Grade-I Cricket Championship encounter here at the UBL Sports Complex on Saturday.

Lahore Blues, who were set a target of 335 in a minimum of 95 overs, managed to reach their target on the fourth and final day for the loss of seven wickets with seven balls to spare.

The over confident Karachi Blues side had taken for granted that they will gain their first victory in the current championship with consummate ease by taking advantage of a last day's wearing pitch. But some unimaginative captaincy by Iqbal Imam and atrocious display in the field doomed Karachi Blues to their sixth defeat. They are almost assured of a Grade-II spot next season after failing miserably to score their first points.

It is a great pity that the country's biggest cricketing nursery once again failed to field a proper combination despite having at its disposal a reservoir of talented players. Iqbal Imam's leadership was quite bewildering as he continuously kept faith in his spinners that allowed Lahore Blues more overs to face. Had he utilized the services of Mohammad Javed's medium-pacers, it was possible that the result of the match could have been different.

Lahore Blues, on the other hand, deserved nine points after conceding a first innings lead of 137 runs. Barring Fareed Butt, every batsman played his role perfectly.

Young wicket-keeper Humayun Farhat laid the foundation for his side's victory with a dashing knock of 87 in 125 minutes off just 93 deliveries until he played across the line and was caught at cover via a leading edge. His marvelous innings included 10 fours and a six.

Humayun is having a dream season and is now a serious contender of place in Pakistan's squad for the tour of New Zealand early next year. In seven matches, he has scored more than 650 runs with two centuries and has accounted for almost 40 dismissals behind the stumps.

Shahid Anwar (41), Tariq Rasheed (47), skipper Mohammad Hussain (50) and Intikhab Alam (33) further consolidated the innings. However, the real hero of the day was Hafeez Qureshi. He held up one end to allow the stroke-makers to play their natural game. Qureshi's vital contribution of 22 off 95 balls in two hours allowed Waqas Ahmed to put the final nail in Karachi Blues' coffin with a cavalier 32 off 35 balls during an unbroken partnership of 54.

Waqas settled the issue beyond doubt when he used to long reach to smash off-spinner Tabish Nawab high, wide and handsome over mid-wicket for a huge six. The ball was lost in the bush after travelling a distance of some 110 yards.