KARACHI: A scintillating century from discarded international Rameez Raja Jr guided Pakistan Cricket Club into final of the KCCA President Cup with resounding 190-run victory against Al-Noor Gymkhana by at the TMC Ground here on Thursday.

After opting to bat first with newly-appointed Pakistan T20 skipper Sarfraz Ahmed winning the toss in the second semi-final, Pakistan CC plundered a massive 393-5 in the stipulated 50 overs.

Opener Rameez, who also played for Pakistan Under-19s, stole the show as the right-hander hammered 178 from only 135 deliveries. The 28-year-old, who played just two T20 Internationals on the tour of Zimbabwe in September 2011, struck 19 boundaries and hoisted seven sixes.

Former Pakistan Under-19 representative Ali Asad played second fiddle to Rameez in their opening partnership of 171. The left-handed Ali scored 60 off 56 balls with the aid of four fours and two sixes.

There was more misery for Al-Noor Gymkhana as Akbar-ur-Rehman and Tabish Khan shared an unbroken stand of 106 for the sixth wicket.

Akbar hit a 43-ball 62 that included three fours and two sixes, while Tabish slammed six boundaries in his 44 off 33 balls.

Leg-spinner Israr-ul-Haq claimed two wickets for 43 runs and Pakistan discard Fawad Alam took two for 78 with his occasional left-arm spin.

Al-Noor Gymkhana struggled from the start of their innings to maintain a daunting run-rate of 7.88 and were dismissed for 203 in the 44th over with only Shoaib Mirza (46 off 76 balls, four fours and two sixes), Fawad (38, four boundaries) and Zia-u-Haq (29, three fours) offering some resistance.

Slow left-armer Adnan Kaleem (4-310 and off-spinner Junaid Ilyas (3-49) shared the bowling honours for the victorious side.

In the final on Saturday at the National Stadium, Pakistan CC’s opponents will be Alamgir Gymkhana in what is going to be the fourth title-decider between these two Zone-VI clubs in tournaments organized by the Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA).

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shaharyar Mohammad Khan has consented to be the chief guest on the occasion.

Alamgir Gymkhana, who like Al-Noor Gymkhana are also affiliated with KCCA Zone-I, had qualified for the final by having defeated Airport Gymkhana by nine wickets in the first semi-final played at the TMC Ground last Thursday (March 31).

Summarised scores:

PAKISTAN CRICKET CLUB 393-5 in 50 overs (Rameez Raja Jr 178, Akbar-ur-Rehman 62 not out, Ali Asad 60, Tabish Khan 44 not out; Israr-ul-Haq 2-43, Fawad Alam 2-81); AL-NOOR GYMKHANA 203 in 43.4 overs (Shoaib Mirza 46, Fawad Alam 38, Zia-ul-Haq 29; Adnan Kaleem 4-31, Junaid Ilyas 3-59).

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2016