Over 40s Global Cup Archives

Pakistan crush West Indies to win inaugural Over 40s Global Cup

KARACHI: Hosts Pakistan emerged as world champions by overpowering West Indies by 152 runs in the final of the inaugural Over 40s Cricket Global Cup at National Bank Stadium on Monday.

Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq’s fluent century enabled Pakistan to post an imposing total of 328/4 in the allotted 45 overs before bowling out their opponents for a meagre 176 in 38.5 overs with spinner Abdul Qadir picking up six wickets for 35 runs.

Misbah chose to bat first after beating rival skipper Narsingh Deonarine in the spin of the coin.

The West Indians did a fabulous job by containing the Pakistani openers, Abdul Razzaq and Amjad Ali, who had massacred the Australian bowlers in the semifinal at the same venue.

Pakistan, in fact, was in a spot of bother when both Razzaq (38 off 58 balls) and Amjad (28 off 28 balls) perished in quick succession after a quiet start.

The stage was set for the captain to lead by example and Misbah did exactly that by adding 173 for the third wicket with Hassan Raza, who made 68 off 64 balls. Misbah departed after scoring 106 off 93 balls with the help of seven sixes and six fours.

The cameo from Tasawwar Abbas, who finished unbeaten on 58 off only 21 balls allowed the home side to score nearly 100 runs from the last seven overs which lifted the total.

Former Test leg-spinner Mahendra Nagamootoo (2-50) was the pick of the West Indian bowlers.

West Indies began the chase of 329 in a bid to lift the inaugural Over 40s Global Cup title in a confident manner with openers Randy Thomas (37 off 51 balls) and Devindra Maharaj (17 off 34 balls) seeing off new ball operators, Muhammad Sami and Imran Ali, during their 57-run partnership.

The introduction of spin, as expected, brought about their downfall and the sensational spell of Abdul Qadir, yielding six wickets, sealed the fate of the match.

Lawrence Farnum (41 off 54 balls) and Sanjeev Gooljar (28 off 37 balls) delayed the inevitable for a while by adding 65 for the eighth wicket but Hassan Raza took the last three wickets in quick succession to seal the deal for Pakistan.

READ: New Zealand set South Africa to chase 322 in ICC World Cup 2023 warm-up

Semi-final-bound Pakistan crush UAE in Over 40s Global Cup

KARACHI: Pakistan carried on their unbeaten run with a comfortable eight-wicket victory over the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Over 40 Cricket Global Cup 2023.

In the seventh and final round of league matches, Pakistan hammered United Arab Emirates (UAE) by eight wickets at National Bank Stadium, West Indies edged Hong Kong by five wickets while the United States of America (USA) thrashed Canada by eight wickets at NBP Sports Complex.

Notably, Pakistan, by winning all seven matches, topped the table with 14 points while the USA and West Indies finished second and third with 11 and 10 points respectively.

The three sides had already booked their spot in the Over 40s Global Cup semi-final on Wednesday while Australia joined them Thursday, courtesy of their seven-wicket victory over Nepal in the last group fixture.

The home side dominated the proceedings against UAE from the outset. After just a few overs of pace bowling, the spinners were pressed into service and they did a fantastic job.

The trio of Abdul Qadir (4-24), Kashif Siddique (2-16) and Haris Ayaz (2-24) bamboozled the UAE batters.

Opting to bat first, the UAE struggled against a ruthless spin bowling attack of Pakistan and failed to build any notable partnership before they eventually succumbed to 80 all out in 29.1 overs with Vijay Mehra (15 off 38 balls) being their top scorer.

Chasing a modest 81, Pakistan got off to a flying start through the opening pair of Junaid Khalil Nainitalwala and Abdul Razzaq. They raised 50 runs in only the fifth over.

Pakistan captain Razzaq was dismissed after scoring 21 off 15 balls but his opening partner Junaid returned unbeaten with a 34-ball 36 as the home side clinched their seventh-consecutive victory in the 11th over.

Following a dominant show in the group stage, Pakistan will now face Australia in the Over 40s Global Cup semi-final while West Indies and USA will contest in the other knockout match.

READ: ICC World Cup 2023: Babar Azam ‘overwhelmed’ with warm welcome in India

Pakistan thump Canada to continue winning streak in Over 40s Global Cup

KARACHI: Abdul Razzaq’s brisk 70-run knock, followed by a tight bowling display propelled Pakistan to thrash Canada by 78 runs and register their fifth straight victory in the ongoing Over 40s Global Cup.

Abdul Razzaq made an immediate impact as he came up with a Player of the Match performance in his maiden outing in the Over 40s Global Cup.

Leading Pakistan, in the absence of regular skipper Misbah-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq blasted half a dozen sixes and five fours in his blazing 43-ball 70 which helped the home side set a formidable total of 312/8 in the allotted 45 overs against Canada.

Openers Kashif Siddique (29 off 40 balls) and Junaid Khalil Nainitalwala (31 off 34 balls) laid the foundation with a solid 60-run opening stand in little over 10 overs.

Rizwan Aslam (47 off 46 balls) was content in rotating the strike while captain Razzaq himself took up the responsibility of dominating the Canadian bowlers.

The pair added 96 runs for the third wicket to put Canada under pressure. Hassan Raza (42 off 44 balls) and Amjad Ali (33 off 32 balls) sustained the momentum which ensured a commendable total.

Ali Farooq, Iqbal Kassamali and Sultan Malik took a couple of wickets each for Canada in their all-important Over 40s Global Cup fixture.

Chasing a daunting total of 313, Canada got off to an unwanted start as they lost both their openers cheaply.

The asking rate kept mounting and the only consolation for Canada was playing out their full quota of 45 overs in which they could score only 234.

Tyrone Atmaram Persaud waged a lone battle for Canada with a cautious 61 off 78 balls while Ayaz Ali (47 off 61 balls) and Talal Iqbal (39 off 55 balls) remained the next notable run-getters for Canada.

Part-time leg-spinner Hassan Raza led the bowling attack for Pakistan, returning with astonishing figures of 2-50.

Pakistan have virtually booked a place in the semifinals by having won their first five matches, earning them 10 points.

In another fifth-round fixture of the ongoing Over 40s Global Cup, the USA outclassed Australia by 77 runs at Karachi Gymkhana while the West Indies crushed Nepal by eight wickets at NBP Sports Complex on Monday.

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Pakistan crush Nepal in Over 40s Global Cup

KARACHI: Hasan Raza and Amjad Ali scored magnificent centuries and powered Pakistan to a thumping 248-run victory over Nepal to taste their second consecutive victory in the ongoing Over 40s Global Cup.

The 266-run unbeaten fourth-wicket partnership between Hasan and Amjad propelled Pakistan to amass a mammoth total of 382 for three in the allotted 45 overs after captain Misbah-ul-Haq opted to bat.

Pakistan Openers Kashif Siddiqui (66 off 59 balls) and Junaid Khalil Nainitalwala (24 off 38 balls) laid the solid foundation with a first-wicket stand of 75 runs, which lasted in the 12th over.

Medium-pacer Khim Bahadur Thapa bagged two wickets in quick succession to reduce the hosts to 106/3 in the 18th over but then the duo of Hasan and Amjad hammered the Nepal bowlers all over the park amid their marathon partnership.

Hasan, the youngest-ever Test cricketer, remained undefeated on 154 off 94 balls with the help of seven sixes and 16 boundaries while Amjad’s unbeaten 108 off 72 balls, hitting three sixes and 12 boundaries.

Chasing a daunting total of 383, Nepal’s batting lineup flopped and could only raise 134 before getting bundled out in the 37th over.

Former Test fast bowler Muhammad Sami (2-27), left-arm spinner Abdul Qadir (2-14), leg-spinner Kashif Siddiqui (2-21) and off-spinner Haris Ayaz (2-29) shared the bowling honours for Pakistan while Hassan Raza was adjudged the Player of the Match.

In another Over 40s Global Cup fixture, dominant West Indies thrashed the United Arab Emirates (UAE) by 108 runs at the NBP Sports Complex while the matches between Hong Kong and USA at the Karachi Gymkhana and the one between Australia and Canada were abandoned due to rain.

Hosts Pakistan got off to a triumphant start to their Over 40s Global Cup campaign with a thrilling one-wicket victory over the United States of America (USA) on Tuesday.

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