Sooper Hai Pakistan Cup: EBM, Aaj Entertainment organise cricket contest in Gwadar

GWADAR: Under the imposing white mountains that brought memories of Table Mountains in Cape Town, South Africa, an exhibition match between Showbiz Sharks and Gwadar Dolphins was held at one of world’s most beautiful cricket stadia - Gwadar Cricket Stadium.

EBM, in partnership with Aaj Entertainment, hosted ‘Sooper Hai Pakistan Cup’, a vibrant event with a 25-over celebrity exhibition match between Showbiz Sharks and Gwadar Dolphins.

The idea of this celebrity match was conceived by Fakhr-e-Alam, a renowned TV host, who was inspired by the sheer beauty of the venue, the Gwadar Cricket Ground.

The two teams had some prominent names - Showbiz Sharks, led by Waseem Khan CEO PCB, comprised Fakhr Alam, Faysal Qureshi, Ali Zafar, Saleem Sheikh, Aijaz Aslam, Sami Khan, Kamran Jeelani, Salman Saeed, Ali Safina and Noman Habib while Gwadar Dolphins featured dignitaries such as Special Assistant to Prime Minister Zulfi Bukhari, federal minister for ports and shipping Ali Zaidi and Maj-General Aamer Najam GOC 44 Infantry Division at Gwadar.

The closing ceremony held after a nail-biting cricket match in which Chief Guest Dr Christian Turner, British High Commissioner for Pakistan, along with Humair Kandhari, Senior Brand Manager Sooper - EBM, Shahab Zuberi, Aaj Entertainment and Fakhr-e-Alam awarded trophies to teams.

Speaking at the event, Dr Zeelaf Munir, Managing Director & CEO of EBM, said, “We always love to be a part of such exciting events which not just promote sports and healthy activities among Pakistanis but also demonstrate the beauty and openness of Pakistan and its cities. Gwadar is the future of Pakistan, a stunningly picturesque economic gateway that connects Pakistan to the world. We wanted to host the first-ever live broadcasted cricket match in this picturesque venue of Gwadar Cricket Ground from the very day we saw the photos of it. I want to thank Aaj Entertainment for organizing this event and above all Fakhr-e-Alam who fulfilled the desire of many to play as well as watch this historic cricket match here in this stadium.”

Sooper Hai Pakistan Cup was an enthusiastic effort by the Nation’s Favorite Peek Freans Sooper and Aaj Entertainment to shed a brighter light on the land of Gwadar for the nation through a sport we all love, cricket, Dr. Zeelaf said.

Zulfi Bukhari won the toss and elected to bowl first on a flat pitch where the ball kept low. The grass was beautifully laid and the striped ground gave the impression of an English ground.

After a slow start, openers Wasim Khan and Salim Sheikh started collecting runs. Wasim lost his partner Sheikh at the score of 20 when he was declared lbw out off Kamal Khan. Ali Zafar, however, was bowled out by Ali Zaidi at 4. Zain Baig showed some resistance with his bat and played an inning of 31 runs before being caught by Umar off Zaidi.

Captain Wasim Khan showed his class and played an innings of 44 runs off 39 balls, hitting two boundaries and two sixes. Zulfi Bukhari took his wicket. Later, Danyal played a crucial innings of 36 runs off 24 balls that helped Sharks to set a decent total of 174 runs for Dolphins. Zulfi Bukhari and Ali Zaidi took two wickets each.

Gwadar Dolphins began their reply with Zulfi Bukhari and Abbas Jaffrey. Zulfi attacked the Sharks’ bowlers with swashbuckling strokes while Abbas was more watchful before he lost his wicket by playing a loose shot. On the other hand, Zulfi remained in his elements until he was sent to the pavilion by Sami Khan. After two more quick wickets (Zaidi 3 & Kabeer 0), the Dolphins were struggling at 44 for 4.

Then, Maj-General Aamer Najam and Falak came together and indulged in some strong hitting. They also demonstrated impressive running between the wickets by taking quick singles. Their partnership was approaching the 100-run mark, Falak was run out when Najam played a straight drive but the ball hit the stumps after touching the bowler’s shoe. Falak contributed 30 runs to his team’s total with one boundary and a six.

Maj General Aamer Najam was lucky in two close legs before appeals. He lost to Zeeshan on 138 runs in the 21st over. Later, He was caught off Faisal at long on. He played a brilliant 62-run knock studded with 3 sixes and four boundaries. The match became more interesting when Dolphins lost their 8th wicket at the start of 24th over to win the match. Later, tail-ender Umar was bowled out at 6 when Dolphins needed 15 runs in the last over. Last player got run out at 165, giving Sharks a victory by 11 runs. Shahab Zuberi Group COO of Aaj TV and Business Recorder presented the runner-up trophy to the Captain of Gwadar Dolphins Zulfi Bukhari.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021