Karachi:Jaffer Qureshi’s brilliant all-round performance powered Pakistan to a stunning 173-run victory over Namibia in the opening match of the Over-50 World Cup Cricket Tournament 2020 at the Western Province Cricket Club Ground in Cape Town, South Africa.
In the other matches of the opening day, hosts South Africa hammered Wales by 193 runs; defending champions Australia routed Zimbabwe by six wickets; England overwhelmed debutants India by eight wickets; New Zealand overpowered West Indies by 36 runs; Canada surprised Sri Lanka by five wickets.
All-rounder Jaffer Qureshi played the key role in getting favourites Pakistan, who finished runners-up in the inaugural tournament a couple of years ago in Australia, off to a sensational start. He followed up his unbeaten knock of 69 in 70 balls with 8 fours and 3 sixes with an effective and economical spell of six overs which earned him Man of the Match award.
Electing to bat on a small but picturesque venue, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals as opener Sajid Ali (27 off 23 balls), skipper Ghaffar Kazmi (26 off 29 balls) and Mahmood Hamid (24 off 45 balls) couldn’t convert their starts into big knocks.
Dee Thakur rocked the middle-order with a spell of three for 19 off nine overs but Pakistan bounced back through half centuries by Azhar Khan and Jaffer Qureshi in contrasting styles.
While Azhar Khan batted placidly scoring 50 off 71 balls with the help of four boundaries, left-handed Jaffer Qureshi blasted three sixes and eight fours in his unbeaten 71 off 57 balls. Raja Arshad Hayat also contributed a handy 32 off 27 balls as Pakistan lifted the total to 262 for eight in the allotted 45 overs.
The Pakistan bowlers and fielders were all over Namibia from the outset as they chased a formidable target of 263. Spearheading the attack, medium-pacer Muhammad Javed was the pick of the bowlers with his figures of three for 18 off eight overs.
Left-arm spinner Jaffer Qureshi proved almost unplayable as he conceded only eight runs in his spell of six overs during which he picked up a couple of wickets. Fawad Barry also took two wickets while Asif Hayatt, Imtiaz Tarar and Zafar Ali got a wicket each as Namibia was bundled out for 89 in 30.4 overs with Abraham Buitendag (21 off 40 balls) being their top scorer.
The 15-member Pakistan squad, sponsored by Quetta Gladiators, has been placed in the Group B alongwith England, South Africa, Wales, India and Namibia. They will take on India in their next match. Holders Australia has been drawn in the Group A along with New Zealand, Canada, Sri Lanka, West Indies and Zimbabwe.