Omar Associates outplay Moin Khan Academy in 16th National Seniors Cup regional final

Pakistan News & Features Services

Opener Sajid Ali and the spin trio of Jaffer Qureshi, Nadeem Musa and Saifullah Magsi powered Omar Associates to an emphatic seven-wicket victory over Moin Khan Academy in the southern region final of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 at the National Stadium, Karachi, on April 28. 

Put into bat, Moin Khan Academy was bowled out for 199 in 28 overs. Set to score 200 in 30 overs, Omar Associates raced to the target in 24.3 overs with seven wickets in hand. Omar Associates will now take on the regional champions of the northern zone in the national final to be staged at the Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

The innings of Moin Khan Academy couldn’t gain momentum despite fighting knocks from Rashid Latif (31 off 22 balls), Ghulam Ali (30 off 23 balls), Nadeem Khan (30 off 21 balls) and Asif Siddiqui (28 off 30 balls) as left-spinners Jaffer Qureshi (3-36) and Nadeem Musa (3-44) alongwith off-spinner Saifullah Magsi (2-30) rocked the star-studded side. 

Sajid Ali’s undefeated 93 off 74 balls containing 15 fours guided Omar Associates to a convincing victory with Nadeem Shaikh making a breezy 33 off 18 balls with the help of one six and six fours and Azhar Khan remaining unbeaten on 33 off 30 balls, hitting two sixes and one four as the winning runs with 5.3 overs to spare. 

Arif Habib, Chairman, Chairman, Arif Habib Corporation Limited, was the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony which was presided over by Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), with Nadeem Omar, Managing Director, Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited, being the guest of honour. Alamgir Ahmed and Amjad Islam also spoke on the occasion. 

Jaffer Qureshi, skipper, Omar Associates, received the winners’ trophy with a cheque of Rs 50,000 from the chief guest while Rashid Latif, a former Pakistan captain, collected the runners-up trophy with a cheque of Rs 25,000 on behalf of Moin Khan Academy. 

Cash awards were also presented to Jaffer Qureshi, Man of the Tournament, Sajid Ali, Man of the Match in the final, Irfan Ali, Best Batsman of the Tournament, Nadeem Musa, Best Bowler of the Tournament and Adnan Baig, Best Wicketkeeper of the Tournament. 

Alamgir Ahmed, on behalf of the Sindh Seniors Welfare Association, distributed cheques of Rs 75,000 each to the deserving beneficiaries, Mohammad Hanif, a veteran player from Badin, and Arif Ali, a local umpire, while Wasimuddin, another umpires, received Rs 100,000. 

The National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament is an annual event, organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA). The current tournament is being sponsored by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited, offering total cash awards of Rs 805,000.

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Shahram's Snooker Lounge inaugurated in Islamabad with fanfare

By Syed Khalid Mahmood
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Former national snooker champion and Asian Games bronze medalist, Shahram Changezi, has set the ball rolling by developing a snooker lounge and academy in Islamabad, which was inaugurated recently.

It was in the fitness of things that Brigadier Arif Siddiqui, who led the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) with distinction for quite a few years, was invited to do the honours in the inauguration ceremony. 

The former Director General of the PSB was the chief guest in the opening ceremony of the Shahram's Snooker Lounge, held with great fanfare in the presence of enthusiastic cueists and notables. 

Shahram Changezi, himself one of the most accomplished cueists of the country, was showered with praise for having ventured into the project in partnership with Rashid Ali, an entrepreneur.

“Shahram and Rashid deserve appreciation for establishing a snooker academy in the federal capital. Others should take the cue from them and also play their part in promoting the game which has earned good name for the country,” Brigadier Arif Siddiqui remarked in his brief speech on the occasion. 

“We will try to remove flaws from the techniques of the players and also provide free of cost training to school, college and university students and conduct tournaments for them,” Shahram Changezi, who has remained vocal in advocating for institutional and corporate support to the game of snooker, announced. 

“We have launched this venue with the best possible facilities which will also serve as an academy. Our mission is to promote the game and produce best players from the region,” he observed.

“Our future plans include organizing junior snooker tournaments and twin-city snooker tournaments. We will groom the cueists for participation in in the provincial and national events. We would urge the educational institutions to avail free training/introductory camps being offered for school and college students. We will also conduct free basic training for the cueists on weekends at the Shahram's Snooker Lounge,” the former national champion added. 

Meanwhile a tournament was held to mark the inauguration of the venue which was won by Yasir Nadeem, who defeated Rashid Ali 3-1 in the final, to clinch the trophy and cash award of Rs 10,000, presented by Fahim Anwar Khan, Secretary, Islamabad Billiards & Snooker Association (IBSA).

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Omar Associates to combat Moin Khan Academy in National Seniors Cup final

Pakistan News & Features Services 

Omar Associates will lock horns with Moin Khan Academy in the Southern Region final of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 at the National Stadium, Karachi, on April 27.

Arif Habib, Chairman Arif Habib Corporation Limited, will be chief guest in the presentation ceremony, to be presided over by Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), while Nadeem Omar, Director, Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited, will be the guest of honour. The match is due start at 11 am. 

The winners of the regional final between Omar Associates and Moin Khan Academy will take on the winners of the other region in National final due to be staged in Lahore next month. The annual tournament, organized by the PVCA, is being sponsored by Arif Habib Corporation and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited, offering cash awards of Rs 805,000. 

As in the past, the PVCA National Seniors Cup has attracted a lot of former Test and international cricketers. Quite a few of them will be in action on Sunday with the likes of Moin Khan, Rashid Latif, Nadeem Khan, Ghulam Ali and Mahmood Hamid to take the field for Moin Khan Academy and Sajid Ali to play for Omar Associates. 

Saleem Malik, Aamer Sohail, Manzoor Elahi, Zahoor Elahi, Mujahid Jamshed, Shahid Anwar, Ashraf Ali and P J Mir have also appeared for their respective teams in this season’s National Seniors Cup. 

The regional final, between Omar Associates and Moin Khan Academy, is expected to be a keenly contested affair as they have reached there by having knocked over Hyderabad and Karachi Friends respectively in the semifinals. 

Squads: 

Omar Associates: Jaffer Qureshi (captain), Sajid Ali, Nadeem Shaikh, Iqbal Shaikh, Irfan Ali, Saifullah Magsi, Mohammad Sardar, Azhar Khan, K K Mahmood, Nadeem Musa, Mohammad Yousuf, Izhar Ahmed, Ahmed Hayat and Babar Qureshi. 

Moin Khan Academy: Moin Khan (captain), Asim Jah, Rashid Latif, Nadeem Khan, Ghulam Ali, Mahmood Hamid, Dr Kamal, Omar Masood, Asif Siddiqui, Aziz-ur-Rahman, Shahadat Karim, Qamar Ibrahim, Habib-ur-Rahman and Zafar Ali. Umpires: Syed Wasiuddin and Rehan Khan. Referee: Babar Basharat.

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Omar Associates, Moin Khan Academy reach 16th National Seniors Cup zonal final

Pakistan News & Features Services

Omar Associates and Moin Khan Academy stormed into the Southern Zone final of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 as they overcame Hyderabad and Karachi Friends respectively in the semifinals on April 20.

The zonal final, between Omar Associates and Moin Khan Academy, will be played at the National Stadium, Karachi, on April 27 and the winners will qualify for the National final due to be staged in Lahore next month.

The annual tournament, organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), is being sponsored by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited, offering cash awards of Rs 805,000.

In the zonal semifinals, Omar Associates whipped Hyderabad by eight wickets while Moin Khan Academy edged out Karachi Friends by nine runs in a thrilling finish.

The spin duo of Nadeem Musa (4-21) and Saifullah Magsi (4-32) engineered a sensational collapse as Hyderabad was bowled out for 155 in 23.5 overs, losing their last nine wickets for only 73 after opener Abdul Rahim (68 off 49 balls) and number three Arshad Khan (42 off 37 balls) had laid a platform for an impressive total.

The 124-run opening partnership between Sajid Ali (56 off 27 balls) and Jaffer Qureshi (72 off 40 balls) helped Omar Associates reach the target in just 14.3 overs.

The other semifinal was a tight one as Moin Khan Academy made 216 for six in 25 overs against Karachi Friends despite being rocked by left-arm spinner Yahya Toor (4-40). Opener Asif Siddiqui (66 off 47 balls), Mahmood Hamid (38 off 30 balls) and Ghulam Ali (30 off 30 balls) kept the scoreboard moving to raise a decent total.

Opener Irfan Ali (93 off 53 balls), with the support of Sagheer Abbas (32 off 36 balls) and Zahid Ahmed (26 off 19 balls), put Karachi Friends in front but skipper Nadeem Khan (3-25) led Moin Khan Academy’s fightback and restricted the opponents to 207 for seven in 25 overs.

Earlier in their last league matches held on April 19, Moin Khan Academy blasted Gold Bridge Media by 86 while Karachi Friends booked a spot in the semifinals by surprising Omar Associates by five wickets.

Moin Khan Academy registered a cakewalk win against Gold Bridge Media after Dr Kamal’s enterprising 70 off 35 balls containing three sixes and eight fours enabled them to reach a total of 236 for seven in 25 overs. Aziz-ur-Rahman (40 off 22 balls), Umar Masood (38 off 30 balls), Abid Hanif (26 off 17 balls) and Qamar Ibrahim (24 off 20 balls) also chipped in with useful contributions while left-arm spinners Fabion Bob (3-40) and Shuja Haider (2-39) shared the bowling honours.

Gold Bridge Media lost their top three batsmen for nine runs and half of their side was back in the dugout with only 43 runs on the board. Fabion Bob (52 off 39 balls), Imtiaz Siddiqui (35 off 40 balls) and Kashif Hanif (31 off 36 balls) allowed them to reach a total of 150 for seven but it was 87 runs short of their target. The wickets were shared between Dr Kamal (2-10), Habib-ur-Rahman (2-14) and Saif Ashraf (2-39).

Omar Associates, who had overpowered the star-studded Moin Khan Academy by 25 runs the other week, was restricted to 195 for seven in 25 overs by Karachi Friends despite fine knocks from opener Sajid Ali (83 off 60 balls) and Irfan Ali (47 off 36 balls) with left-arm spinner Yahya Toor (2-31) and off-spinner Azeem Ahmed (2-20) taking key wickets.

Opener Irfan Ali’s 12-ball 33 provided an exhilarating start to the Karachi Friends innings and solid contributions from Azeem Ahmed (44 off 31 balls), Mohammad Aslam (54 off 51 balls) and Sagheer Abbas (31 off 32 balls) ensured that the target of 196 was successfully chased as the winning runs came with nine balls to spare.

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Omar Associates overpower Moin Khan Academy in 16th National Seniors Cup

Pakistan News & Features Services

Omar Associates overpowered the star-studded Moin Khan Academy by 25 runs and Hyderabad hammered Jamshoro by 143 runs in the latest round of the Southern Zone matches in the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014. 

The annual tournament, organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), is being sponsored by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited, offering cash awards of Rs 805,000. 

As expected, the match between Omar Associates and Moin Khan Academy, played here at TMC Ground, provided an absorbing contest between bat and ball. Omar Associates did well to reach a total of 225 for seven, due to the onslaught in the final overs, and they managed to defend it successfully despite being challenged by high-quality batsmen. 

Put into bat, Omar Associates was struggling at 135 for seven but the 90-run unbroken seventh wicket stand between Man of the Match Iqbal Shaikh (49 off 32 balls) and Ahmed Hanif (41 off 25 balls) lifted the total substantially. Dr Kamal (2-26) and Mahmood Hamid (2-38) were the successful bowlers for Moin Khan Academy. 

Mahmood Hamid took the centre stage again with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 64 off 44 balls, but the Omar Associates bowlers, not overawed by the big names, didn’t let the other batsmen settle down/ Moin Khan, Ghulam Ali and Rashid Latif perished while trying to force the pace as they were contained to 200 for six in the allotted 25 overs, which was 26 runs short of their target. Left-arm spinner Nadeem Musa (2-28) was the pick of the bowlers. 

Shahid Ansari’s century and Ahmed Ali’s five-wicket haul fired Hyderabad to an emphatic 143-run victory over Jamshoro at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad. They shared the Man of the Match award after a one-sided encounter. 

Opener Shahid Ansari whacked three sixes and 13 fours in his 100 off 67 balls to provide Hyderabad an explosive start. The late flourish was provided by Daulat Ram (52 off 30 balls) and Rashid Khan (33 off 10 balls) which raised the total to 260 for six in the allotted 25 overs despite fine bowling from leg-spinner Abid Baloch (3-28). 

Jamshoro succumbed under the pressure of the huge score and wickets kept on tumbling at regular intervals with none of their batsmen coming to terms with the deadly spin of Ahmed Ali who tormented them with the impressive figures of five for 15 off four overs. Jamshoro was restricted to 117 for nine in 25 overs. 

A record number of 108 teams from 58 cities are participating in the tournament, having been divided in 24 Groups. 35 city teams from Punjab, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eight from Sindh, three from Islamabad and one from FATA have entered the tournament with the national final to be played between the winning teams of North and South zones at Lahore on May 4.

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16th National Seniors Cup: Knockout stage reached in South Punjab

Pakistan News & Features Services

Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan Tigers, Khanewal, Multan Whites, Arifwala and Sahiwal have reached the pre-quarter-finals in the South Punjab zone of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 whose league matches have concluded. 

Dera Ghazi Khan, Multan Tigers, Khanewal, Multan Whites, Arifwala and Sahiwal emerged champions in their respective groups, having remained undefeated in the league matches. The annual event for the seniors is being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) and sponsored jointly by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited. 

In the pre-quarters, Dera Ghazi Khan will be pitted against Bahawalpur Greens, Khanewal will be taking on Jampur, Multan Tigers will be confronting Khanewal Lions, Multan Whites will clash with Insaf, Arifwala will lock horns with Burewala Lions and Sahiwal will tackle Bahawalpur. 

Dera Ghazi Khan topped the Group A by securing a maximum of six points from the Group A in which Jampur ended runners-up with Rajanpur and Rahim Yar Khan having been eliminated after the first round. Multan Tigers headed the Group B with six points with Insaf ending as the runners-up and the duo of Muzaffargarh and Layyah bowing out of the competition. 

The Group C was led by Khanewal, who secured six points, while Bahawalpur Greens finished runners-up ahead of Bahawalpur and Lodhran. Multan Whites led the points table in the Group D while Khanewal Lions ended as the runners-up to knockout Multan Heroes and Mian Channu Stallions. 

The top honours in the Group E were clinchéd by Arifwala with Bahawalnagar having had to content with the runner-up slot as Pakpattan and Chishtian got out of the race. Sahiwal topped the table in the Group F with six points while Burewala Lions ended as the runners-up to which threw Vehari and Chichawatni out of the competition. 

A record number of 108 teams from 58 cities have entered the16th National Seniors Cup. The participating teams were divided in 24 Groups. They included 35 city teams from Punjab, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eight from Sindh, three from Islamabad and one from FATA. The national final will be played between the winning teams of North and South zones at Lahore on May 4.

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Mirpurkhas, Dadu and Shikarpur register victories in National Seniors Cup

Pakistan News & Features Services

Mirpurkhas, Dadu and Shikarpur emerged triumphant over their respective rivals in the latest southern region matches of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 played in the interior of Sindh. 

Mirpurkhas tamed Badin by five wickets, Dadu overwhelmed Sanghar by six wickets and Shikarpur defeated Sukkur by 18 runs in their opening matches of the annual event being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) and sponsored jointly by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Limited. 

Leg-spinner Sharfuddin (4-28) and left-arm spinner Naimatullah (2-36) restricted Badin to 147 for seven in the allotted 25 overs after their openers Mohammad Musa (46 off 53 balls) and Shahid Ahmed (23 off 26 balls) had laid the foundation for a bigger total. 

Mirpurkhas made the most of the solid opening stand between Mohammad Khalid (42 off 45 balls) and Rahmatullah (29 off 27 balls) to reach the target of 148 in 21.3 overs with five wickets in hand despite Shahid’s haul of three wickets. 

Akbar Channa’s fine all-round performance helped Dadu to dominate Sanghar. The medium-pacer claimed three wickets for 22 runs to restrict Sanghar to 138 for seven with number Munawwar Ali (56 off 41 balls) fighting a lone battle. 

The 79-run second wicket partnership between opener Abdul Ghaffar (60 off 41 balls) and Akbar Channa (38 off 18 balls) put Dadu in commanding position and they romped home in the 16th over even after a mini-collapse that saw them lose three wickets for nine runs. 

Fluent knocks from opener Nisar Ahmed (71 off 60 balls) and Himmat Raza (91 off 61 balls), who added 141 for the second wicket, allowed Shikarpur to post an impressive total of 214 for five in the allotted 25 overs. 

Sukkur responded positively with the openers Shafi Mohammad (39 off 32 balls) and Khan Mohammad (25 off 23) laying the base. Number three Mushtaq Ali (47 off 44 balls) kept them in the hunt but wickets tumbled at the other end and they were restricted to 196 for nine with Himmat Raza (2-30) and Mazhar Ali (2-41) doing the damage. 

As many as 108 teams from 58 cities have entered the tournament. They have been divided in 24 Groups and they incl;ude 35 city teams from Punjab, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eight from Sindh, three from Islamabad and one from FATA. The national final will be played between the winning teams of North and South zones at Lahore on May 4.

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Omar Associates, Moin Khan Academy triumph in National Seniors Cup

Pakistan News & Features Services

Omar Associates and Moin Khan Academy opened their campaign on a winning note as they prevailed over their respective rivals in the latest southern region matches of the 16th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2014 played at the TMC Ground, Karachi, over the weekend. 

Omar Associates whipped Gold Bridge Media by 106 runs while Moin Khan Academy blasted Karachi Friends by eight wickets to consolidate their position in the annual event being organized by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA) and sponsored by Arif Habib Corporation Limited and Omar Associates (Pvt) Ltd. The event offers Rs 805,000 in prize money. 

Left-arm spinner Nadeem Musa, adjudged Man of the Match, played the pivotal role in guiding Omar Associates to an emphatic win in their first outing in the tournament. He returned the exceptional figures of 6 for 30 off 4.3 overs to send Gold Bridge Media, set a daunting target of 273 in 25 overs, crashing to 166 all out in 18 overs. 

Gold Bridge Media started their reply in a spectacular style as the enterprising knocks from opener Mukhtar Ali (41 off 20 balls) and Kashif Hanif (41 off 26 balls) kept them ahead of the clock but their dismissal in rapid succession followed by the terrific spell from Nadeem Musa changed the complexion of the game. Jaffer Qureshi, also a left-arm spinner, and leg-spinner K K Mahmood claimed a couple of wickets each. 

Earlier left-handed Jaffer Qureshi had also struck 61 off 37 balls while opening the Omar Associates innings. The momentum was sustained by Azhar Khan who stroked a whirlwind 70 off 31 with the help of three sixes and eight fours to take the total to a mammoth 272 for eight in 25 overs despite fine bowling from left-arm spinner Salahuddin (3-37) and off-spinner Ahsan Shakoor (2-37). 

In the other game, Moin Khan Academy faced no problems in chasing down the modest target of 168 with opener Asif Siddiqui (57 off 38 balls) setting the platform and number three Omar Masood, declared Man of the Match, finishing it off with unbeaten 73 from only 49 balls, striking five sixes and four fours as the winning runs came with 5.2 overs to spare. 

The spin duo of Habib-ur-Rahman (3-20) and Mahmood Hamid (2-21) restricted Karachi Friends to 167 for eight in 25 overs despite opener Irfan Ali Khan, who followed up his century in the opening game, with another superb knock of 72 off 45 balls, hitting one six and a dozen boundaries. He dominated the 98-run opening partnership with Azeem Ahmed (31 off 35 balls) but the middle-order succumbed to the accurate spin bowling in the later part of the innings. 

A record number of 108 teams from 58 cities have entered the tournament. They have been divided in 24 Groups and they incl;ude 35 city teams from Punjab, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, eight from Sindh, three from Islamabad and one from FATA. The national final will be played between the winning teams of North and South zones at Lahore on May 4.

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