Fawad Alam, Danish Aziz steer Karachi Whites to Regional Cup win

In an exciting final, Karachi Whites beat Islamabad region to win the One Day Regional Cup. A match winning partnership between the stylish Danish Aziz and gritty Fawad Alam, turned the match in Karachi’s favour. Anwar Ali finished the game off with a six over square leg.

Batting 1st Islamabad scored a mammoth 347 for the loss of 4 wickets. Shan Masood, started the innings with a 51 of 45 balls with 10 fours. Babar Azam, kept the momentum with a 95 ball 100, while the veteran Shahid Yousuf, provided impetus, missing out on a century by just 4 runs. Anwar Ali and Asad Shafiq, were the pick of the bowlers going under 6 and 5 an over respectively.

In response, Karachi lost their opening pair of Asad Shafiq and Khurram Manzoor early. Akbar ur Rehman, supported Fawad Alam in repair work. Having lost Akbar and Faisal Iqbal in quick succession, Alam found a willing partner in Danish Aziz. They put on 192 run, mixing power hitting with fantastic running. Perhaps Islamabad lost the game when their captain Shan Masood dropped Fawad Alam off Raza Hasan at the 40 over mark. Danish Aziz was also superlative with his hitting, providing much need impetus to the innings time and again. Raza Hasan, was the only Islamabad bowler who bowled with some control.

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It was a timely reminder of the abilities of Fawad Alam. Islamabad, apart from Raza Hasan, did not have a strong bowling line up. Nevertheless, to chase down a total close to 350, in a final is a special effort. Young Danish Aziz was shrewd with his hitting and showed match awareness.

It remains to be seen if Inzimam and other selectors take note of Fawad’s performance and it will reflect on team selection or not. So far, Fawad Alam has been ignored consistently despite much questioning among fans and media alike.