KARACHI: Faraz Ahmed Khan’s fine all-round performance guided Ideal Cricket Club to a comfortable 42-run win over debutants Sir Syed University in their Group A fixture of the 23rd Karachi Gymkhana Ramadan Festival Twenty20 Cricket Tournament 2008, here on Saturday.

Opening the innings, Faraz hammered 41 off 27 balls with the help of four fours and a six as his team amassed 185 for the loss of seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs. He then captured three wickets for 28 runs as the University students were restricted to 143 for seven in their quota of overs.

Ideal CC benefited greatly by the inconsistency of the fielders as numerous strokes went between their legs and the potential dot balls produced boundaries. It made a difference of at least 25 to 30 runs and Sir Syed University had themselves to blame for having conceded the highest total in the tournament so far.

Batting first, after winning the toss, Ideal CC got off to a rollicking start with openers Faraz Ahmed and Irfan Ali going after the bowling from the word go. Number three Mubashir Ahmed kept the momentum going with a 30-ball 41 while, after a few relatively quiet overs, the late flourish was provided by Shaheryar Ghani (28 off 13 balls) and Waqas Ashraf (22 off 13 balls).

Left-arm spinner Danish Ahmed, who also operated with the new ball, was the pick of the Sir Syed University bowlers, claiming three wickets for 32 runs. Off-spinner Hammad Khan (2-30) also bowled well.

Chasing a big target of 186 in 20 overs, Sir Syed University began with a bang as 17 runs came in the first over. Opener Adnan Ali Bajwa entertained the crowd with his aggressive batting as 70 runs came in the seven powerplay overs.

The tempo slowed down after the departure of Adnan who smashed 50 off 23 balls with the help of two sixes and seven fours. The Ideal CC spinners tightened the screws around the inexperienced batsmen and the asking rate kept mounting.

Sir Syed University batsmen, with the sole exception of Asnan Bajwa, didn’t demonstrate the aggressive instincts to challenge the bowlers in a Twenty20 game particularly while chasing a target as high as nine and a half per over.