A late comeback by National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) helped them qualify for the semi-final of the 1st Cool & Cool Corporate Twenty20 Night Tournament as they defeated Omar Associates by four runs in the ninth match at the DHA sports Club (Moin Khan Academy), Phase VIII, on Sunday.
Chasing a modest victory target of 121, Omar Associates finished at 116-8. The result means Omar Associates have reached a dead-end in the tournament after suffering their second successive defeat. In their last match on Tuesday, Omar Associates will face PIA in a match which will decide which side finishes at the bottom of Group A.
In contrast, the NBP has joined Saiyed Paper Mills (SPM) in the semi-finals from Group A after registering their second victory.
The match between NBP and SPM had been washed off which gave both the sides a point each. Group B is still wide open and any of the four sides can complete the semi-final line-up.
Omar Associates were on course for an easy victory when their reached 87-5 after 15 overs, requiring 34 runs off the last five overs. The target came down to 12 runs off 12 balls with four wickets intact before Omar Associates shot themselves in the foot by scoring just two runs off the penultimate over which left them with a daunting task of scoring 10 runs off the last six balls.
Fast bowler Muhammad Talha bowled the last over for NBP and conceded just five runs, besides picking the wicket of Asif Raza, as Omar Associates finished at 116-8.
Omar Associates’ opener Gohar Ali was the top scorer with a 38 that came off 36 balls.
Earlier, NBP struggled to 120-8 after they elected to bat first. Sarmad Bhatti provided the innings a real lift when he scored a 25-ball 36 with three sixes as the bankers scored 46 runs off the last five overs.
Summarised scores:
NBP 120-8 in 20 overs (Sarmad Bhatti 36, Khurram Manzoor 16, Aqeel Anjum 15, Umar Amin 11; Khurram Hussain 2-10, Sultan Ahmed 2-33, Asif Raza 2-37)
Omar Associates 116-8 20 overs (Gohar Ali 38, Asif Raza 13, Ali Khan 12, Ali Asad 11, Khurram Hussain 11, Mirza Shoaib Baig 10; Raza Hasan 2-14).