Pegasus Edges Over International

Pegasus and International came face to face in the 2nd half of the season. Pegasus coming in with a 4 game winning streak was expected to walk home comfortably. However, International had other ideas that made this game another nerve wrecker. On a beautiful sunny day, International won the toss and elected to bat. Pegasus opening bowlers began with familiar accuracy and hostility while International openers remained restrained and steady. International maintained a steady run rate even though they lost wickets at regular intervals. Good contribution from Junaid (25), Imran Habib (39), Imran Ahmed (43) and Sohail Khan (41) set the platform, while Adil Ahad (17) and Fahmeed (23) made a decent total possible. International scored a healthy 249 at the end of 45 overs. For Pegasus, Elmore took 3 while Suresh and Jawaid took 2 apiece. Pegasus began in a shaky manner losing both the openers with the score on 13. In came Zeeshan Khamisani and Shahid Rahmatullah, who steadied the ship and took Pegasus towards the target at a healthy run rate. Then came the twist in the tale. After the 1st drinks break International lost 2 players and fielded with 9. The situation looked as if Pegasus would sail through comfortably. But soon after play resumed, Shahid, who was batting beautifully suffered from cramps and was carried off the field. That, along with some very accurate bowling from International and sloppy batting from Pegasus resulted in a mini collapse. It seemed as if the game could go anywhere. In walks Ali Shafi with a swollen ankle. Ali and Zeeshan kept the score ticking until Zeeshan got out to a freak shot after scoring 76. However, Jawaid came in ready, using his heavy blade blasted international bowlers to all corners. He scored a blistering 47. Ali kept one end tight, using the gaps in the field to reach the target at hand. He scored a beautifully carved 53 not out (with a swollen ankle) and won the game for Pegasus. For International, wickets were shared by all but it was Atif (2 wickets) and Zafar (1 wicket) who had managed to cause a scare in the Pegasus run chase. Pegasus increased their winning streak to 5 games while International needs to structure their depleted side for coming games. Umpiring was consistent but there were a couple of very suspect run out decisions Overall, it was a great game to watch. Good luck to all.