REHAN Akram and Rahim Khan both made half-centuries as Royal Mail defeated West Reading by 28 runs in the Reading Midweek League Cup final last Friday.
On a lively wicket at the Goosecroft Ground in Purley, the openers laid the foundations for victory with an opening stand of 93 in this 13-over per-side, winner-takes-all game.
Both made 56 with Akram, who faced just 34 balls, being smartly stumped by West Reading skipper Adam Davidson off the bowling of Atif Nasim in the seventh over.
Khan’s 49-ball knock came to an end when he was unfortunately run out by Nasim.
His dismissal invigorated the bowlers, and they managed to reduce the run rate, eventually restricting Mail to 139-4.
Nasim finished with 2-30 off four overs.
The West Reading team that lost to Royal Mail in the final.
When Division 1 leaders Wests batted, they suffered a major blow in the opening over when Davidson edged pace bowler Usman Asif down the leg side, where keeper Saqib Bhatti took a spectacular catch.
From then on, the Mail’s bowlers, backed up by excellent catching and field, prevented any batsman establishing himself to make a significant score.
The highest contribution for Wests came from opener Abid Ul-Wahab, who scored 33 before being caught and bowled by Saad Raqeeb.
Wests lost wickets on a regular basis and their innings closed on 111-9, leaving Mail to lift the Keith Mitchell Cup in front of their supporters.
Of the Royal Mail bowlers, Usman Asif claimed 3-22, Saad Raqeeb 3-26 and Adeel Razaq 3-21, all off four overs.
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