By Saj Sadiq (September 30, 2011)

Defending Faysal Bank Twenty20 champions Rawalpindi Rams stormed into the semi finals on Friday after topping group B. The reigning champions were pushed hard by Faisalabad but in the end the Rawalpindi total of 165 for 8 proved too much for the Wolves who at one point had collapsed to 39 for 5 wickets.

Only late order hitting from pace bowler Mohammad Talha who hit a brisk 22 off only 7 deliveries and a partnership of 66 between captain Misbah ul Haq and Imran Khalid lifted the Faisalabad Wolves to within 7 runs of the Rawalpindi total.

The all round strength of the Rawalpindi Rams team will certainly be a concern for the remaining teams in the Faysal Bank Cup and the Rams will certainly be keen to keep a firm grip on the Trophy they lifted last time around.

Surprise winners of the previous edition of this tournament, Rawalpindi, have gone through to the semi finals with an unbeaten record having defeated Faisalabad, Afghanistan and Multan and will now face Peshawar in Saturday’s semi final at the National Stadium Karachi.

Speaking to PakPassion.net, stylish left handed middle order batsman for Rawalpindi Umar Amin, who scored 53 off 37 deliveries against Faisalabad explained that he felt the group that Rawalpindi were drawn in was an extremely strong one and that he and his colleagues were pleased with their performances so far.

“Yes today’s win was a good one and that has really boosted our confidence. If you look at the group, there were no weak teams in it. All the teams were competitive and every match was a tough encounter. We’re pleased with our performances in this tournament to date, the boys have gelled well and everyone is really backing each other.”

Orthodox batsmen aren’t always the most appreciated by fans in the shortest form of cricket. However 21 year old Amin once again showed today that there is room for what some term as “proper” batsmen in the twenty over format, with an excellently constructed innings and he’s confident that his style of batting is essential to the team combination in Twenty over cricket.

“I think you need your hard hitters and big shot players at the start of the innings in the first six overs to make use of the batting power play. After the first six overs you need to be more sensible with your approach and build the innings. Seven or 8 runs an over in the middle of the innings is usually adequate. You don’t necessarily have to go for the big shots in the air in the middle overs and I definitely feel that the more sensible approach of hitting the ball along the ground in the middle overs is the best approach. I feel that my style of batting has its use in twenty over cricket - Twenty over cricket isn’t just about attempts at big hits.”

Amin was part of the Rawalpindi squad that lifted the Faysal Bank Super 8 Cup in Faisalabad earlier this year and responding to a question about how tough it was to defend a trophy, Amin stated “Yes the other teams look at us as main rivals as we are the defending champions, but it doesn’t really effect us. Others may think that we will be under more pressure as the reigning champions but we just look at our game and performance. We’ve lost one or two players from the team that won last time, but we’ve strengthened accordingly and the replacements have done an excellent job too. I’m confident we can defend the title.”

“The combination of the Rawalpindi side is excellent. If the top order fails then we have strength in the middle order and those batsmen can rebuild and accelerate at the end of the innings too. We also have some good hitters in the lower order like Sohail Tanvir and Hammad Azam who can certainly clear the boundary rope if needed. Our bowling combination is also very good, we have variety in our bowling and also the fielding backs the bowlers very well.”

Rawalpindi coach Sabih Azhar’s influence on the team was lauded by the players in the previous tournament and once again Amin praised Azhar’s meticulous planning and preparation.

“The Rawalpindi camp is always the first to start. Whilst other teams wait for the official team camp to commence, we at Rawalpindi start with an unofficial camp a week ahead of everyone else. This helps all the boys so much as we have an extra week’s preparation time and an extra week to work with the coaches and fine tune ourselves.”

Rawalpindi face Peshawar and Lahore Eagles face Sialkot in tomorrow’s semi finals with the final due to be held at the National Stadium Karachi on Sunday.