Khayyam continued with his 100% toss record in Bærum and chose to bat first. The match was reduced to 25 overs aside.
Adnan and Tara opened the batting for Asker. Adnan look composed and looked to take singles and give Tara the strike early-on. Tara looked good, hitting a six and a four over mid-off. Adnan was the first to go trying to increase the run-rate. Ravi got a promotion to no.3 but did not make good use of it, he was out for 2. Tara follwed him next ball, Asker was now in some trouble. Asker's best batsman this season, Qasim walked in and got going with a boundary. But he fell soon after that, hitting the ball very high but not very far. The responsibility of building the innings fell on Mehdi and Hashir. They were starting to look good when Mehdi got out. Half the Asker team was out now, the scoreboard read just 43. Waqas came in at no.7, but was dismissed soon. Asker's captain Khayyam walked in next. Asker was looking for a good innings from him, but he was unlucky to get a ball which did not bounce as much as expected. Hashir meanwhile continued to counter-attack. Ibrahim joined him and was greeted by a bouncer which smacked him in the chest. Ibrahim however showed no pain and continued to bat. He fell next, and was replaced by Ali Ahmed who was back after a long break. Hashir was the next to go, and Asker's legend Hamza Ilyas came in. Hamza remained unbeated as Ali fell in the next over. Asker was dismissed for a poor 68.
After a mid-innings inspirational speech by Tara, Asker took the field to bowl. Hashir and Qasim opened the bowling for Asker. Hashir was fast and furious, getting his man in the first over. Qasim bowled quick and swung the ball. He had two wickets in his next over. Hashir then picked another one and Asker was starting to feel they had a chance. Tara came on as first change and had a wicket in his first over. Hashir then took another one, followed by Tara in the next. The scorecard now read 24/7. Asker thought they had the match in their hands at this stage. But Faizan had other plans. He waited for Hashir to finish his spell. After this he went on the attack and hammered 6 sixes in all. It was a wonderful fight by Asker after their batting collapse.
The scorecard can be seen here.
Match highlights:
Hashir: 3/5 from 5 overs. (Best bowling economy by an Asker bowler - new club record ).