DUN OKINYO / Pakistan Cricket Club sealed their seventh win in seven games, beating Mombasa Sports Club B by 82 runs to climb on top of the points table of the Coast NCBA Bank 2020 Cup at Coast Gymkhana.
Defending 222, Pakistan restricted their visitors to 160 for 6 to maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament and also topple Mombasa Sports Club from the summit of the nine-team event.
Pakistan were rampant in batting and bowling departments as they outclassed the MSC team to move their points tally to 14 from seven matches. Milind Kamdar (42), Rayaan Ahmed (30) and Karan Shah (20) seemed to have the ability to lead their side to a third victory but they were denied by a spirited bowling show from the home team.
Despite all the bowlers sharing in the success of Pakistan, Arshan Iqbal was the star bowler for the hosts as he ended with figures of 218 in his four overs. Ahmed Muzeer (1/12), Mithal Sajjad (1/27) and Zahid Siwani (1/34) took a wicket each to ensure the MSC were restricted to 160 in the allotted 20 overs.
Reflecting on the day’s performance, Iqbal said: “It is a good performance to have, which means the bowlers are doing a great job for us. Not just the pacers, the spinners too have stepped up. This is a happy unit.”
Reflecting on how exactly this bowling unit has managed to stick to the right line and lengths consistently, Muzeer gave an interesting perspective.
“When you try new things, it is important that the result goes in your favour. If you succeed in the new approach, then you tend to get inclined towards executing those kind of plans.
Earlier, Pakistan rode on stellar half-century by Farhad Malik (98) to post a commanding total. After losing Imran Qazi early in the inning with the board on 93, Malik and Mohammed Shiraz (37) ensured that they had a good platform. Malik hit boundaries all over the park but was unlucky to get out two runs shy of his maiden century courtesy of a brilliant catch off Kush Shah in the 18th over.
Muzeef (37) and Iqbal were also instrumental with the bat.
