Amar Cables annex 17th PVCA National Seniors Cup

Pakistan News & Features Services

Jamshed Salman’s brilliant knock of 73 powered Lahore Amar Cables to 49-run victory over Karachi Gold Bridge Media in the final of the 17th National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament 2015 at the Hussain Lawai Naya Nazimabad Cricket Stadium, Karachi, on January 10.

Lahore Amar Cables, having been crowned as the Northern region champions, became the new Senior Cup champions by whipping Karachi Gold Bridge Media, the Southern region champions, in the national final. 

Nadeem Omar, owner of the Quetta Gladiators, was the chief guest in the prize distribution ceremony with Arif Habib, Chairman, Arif Habib Group, being the guest of honour while the function was presided over by Fawad Ijaz Khan, Chairman, Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA). 

The winning team, Lahore Amar Cables, collected a purse of Rs 150,000 while the runners-up, Karachi Gold Bridge Media, received a reward of Rs 75,000. 

Among the individual awards, Jamshed Ali earned Rs 10,000 for being declared the Man of the Tournament while Rs 7,500 each was given to Mansoob Elhai (best batsman), Zafar Ali (best bowler) and Adnan Baig (best wicketkeeper). Jamshed Salman got Rs 5,000 for being the Man of the Match in the final. 

A record number of 109 teams from all over the country entered the annual tournament, organized by the PVCA and sponsored by IMI Omar (Pvt) Ltd and Arif Habib Group. 

Put into bat in the National final, Lahore Amar Cables was indebted to opener Jamshed Sultan who held the innings total with a brilliant 73 off 59 balls with the help of 10 boundaries. He dominated the 78-run second wicket stand with Bilal Khilji who made 27 off 43 balls. 

Left-arm spinner Rizwan Qureshi’s five-wicket haul pulled it back for Karachi Gold Bridge Media who succeeded in restricting their opponents to 167 for nine in the allotted 30 overs. Returning the figures of five for 29 off six overs, he was chiefly responsible for limiting Lahore Amar Cables, who lost seven wickets for 49 runs after a solid start. Leg-spinner Zafar Ali (2-29) also bowled well for the home side. 

Chasing a target of 168 in 30 overs to claim the trophy, Karachi Gold Bridge Media lost wickets at regular intervals and were unable to get on top of the bowling. Aamir Iqbal (30 off 51 balls) turned out to be the topscorer with Khalid Zubair (26 off 19 balls) and Kamran Hussain (21 off 43 balls) also threatening briefly. 

The middle-order succumbed to the leg-spinning duo of Rehan Rauf (3-21) and Akbar Ali (3-24) as Karachi Gold Bridge Media was bowled out for 118 in 28.5 overs. Off-spinner Jamshed Ali (2-17) also played his role in bringing about the collapse.