The Rawalpindi Rams (

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
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Twenty20 Twenty20 (T20) is a shortened game format of cricket. At the professional level, it was introduced by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in 2003 for the inter-county competition. In a Twenty20 game, the two teams have a single innin ...

and

List A List A cricket is a classification of the limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competitions in which the numbe ...

cricket team, based in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi ( or ; Urdu, ) is a city in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad, and third largest in Punjab after Lahore and Faisalabad. Rawalpindi is next to Pakistan's ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. The team was established in 2004–05 and its home ground was the

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is a cricket stadium located in DKS Rawalpindi in the Punjab province of Pakistan. It is near to Pir Meher Ali Shah University, Rawalpindi, and Rawalpindi Arts Council, Rawalpindi. The first international match at the ...

History

* In the 2004–05 National Twenty20 Cup, the Rawalpindi Rams participated with players from

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

and

Azad Kashmir Azad Jammu and Kashmir (; ), abbreviated as AJK and colloquially referred to as simply Azad Kashmir, is a region administered by Pakistan as a nominally self-governing entitySee: * * * and constituting the western portion of the larger Ka ...

. * Before the 2005–06 National Twenty20 Cup, the Rawalpindi Rams were divided into 2 teams; # Rawalpindi Rams - containing players from

Islamabad Leopards The Islamabad Leopards was a domestic T20 and List A cricket team, based in Islamabad, Pakistan. The team was established in 2004. Notable players *Shoaib Akhtar * Umer Gul *Iftikhar Anjum *Bazid Khan *Shan Masood *Babar Azam *Imad Wasim Se ...

- containing players from

and

Honours

Performance in domestic competitions

2008–09 RBS T20 Cup

The tournament started off with a scare for the Rams as the Quetta Bears had them at the ropes at 59–5 but the allrounder-wicketkeeper duo of

Yasir Arafat Mohammed Abdel Rahman Abdel Raouf al-Qudwa al-Husseini (4 / 24 August 1929 – 11 November 2004), popularly known as Yasser Arafat ( , ; ar, محمد ياسر عبد الرحمن عبد الرؤوف عرفات القدوة الحسيني, Mu ...

and Jamal Anwar successfully revived the scoreboard and set a challenging total of 143 for victory. The score would prove more than enough for the Bears as they succumbed to the seam bowling attack of the Rams with just 67 on board. Following the large victory, however, they lost to

Lahore Lions Lahore Lions ( ur, لاہور لائنز, Punjabi: لہور لائنز abbreviated as LIO) was a Pakistani franchise cricket team representing the city Lahore and was one of the 19 domestic teams. The team was established by Lahore Regional Cri ...

in a crucial fixture at the

Gaddafi Stadium Gaddafi Stadium ( ur, , translit=Qaẕẕāfī Isṭeḍiyam), previously known as Lahore Stadium is a cricket stadium in Lahore, Pakistan and the home ground of Lahore Qalandars. It is owned by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). With a capacit ...

. Pursuing 172 for victory, they were all-out for 150 largely because of the handy contributions from the left-arm spinner, Sohail Ahmad, who scored an invaluable 24 with the bat and then came back to take 4–13 to end the Rams' chances of qualifying for the semis.

Umar Amin Umar Amin (born 16 October 1989) is a Pakistani international cricketer. Amin made his One Day International debut in the opening match of the 2010 Asia Cup against Sri Lanka. Amin was also named in the squad for Pakistan's two-match test seri ...

was the most productive run-scorer for the Rawalpindi Rams, scoring 72 runs from the two games with a half century under his belt. Pakistan's future fast-bowling star Mohammad Aamer also turned a few heads at the initial stages of the tournament with 5 wickets at exactly 3.25 runs per over.

2009–10 RBS T20 Cup

The 2009 edition of the domestic tournament the Rams faltered again at the group stages like the other nine knocked out teams. Their initial group clash with

Karachi Zebras Karachi Zebras was a Pakistani domestic first-class, List A and T20 cricket team, based in Karachi, Sindh. The team was established in 2006 and its home ground was National Stadium, Karachi. Most matches as captain See also * Pakistan Supe ...

ended up with a nervy 11-run victory but they couldn't rise up to the big occasion and suffered a knockout defeat at the hands of the eventual champions

Sialkot Stallions The Sialkot Stallions () was a National T20 Cup team, based in Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan. The team was established in 2004 and its home ground was Jinnah Stadium located in Sialkot. The Stallions was the most successful team in Pakistani Twen ...

in the following game due to a 57-ball-95 from the domestically seasoned allrounder

Naved-ul-Hasan Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (Punjabi, ur, ), (born 28 February 1978) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former cricketer who played all formats of the game. A right-arm fast-medium bowler capable of generating good pace with late swing, he is a genui ...

. The Rams could only muster 180 from the 198 required for victory despite a late surge from Hammad Azam. The top run-getter for the club was Tahir Mughal who racked up 92 runs at an impressive average of 46. Among the bowlers, 17-year-old spinner Raza Hasan impressed with returns of 4–64 in the two games combined.

2010–11 Faysal Bank T20 Cup

The 2010 Domestic T20 Cup was by far the most illustrious for the club. They defeated the five-time champions

, who lost to any team for the first time in as many years. They came with intent in the high-scoring clash at the

with the opening duo of Awais Zia and Naved Malik scoring at a fast pace. With the Rams going at over 14 runs per over, a huge total was on the cards but the 'Pindi batsman couldn't capitalize on the solid start and ended up at getting 191. In reply, Imran Nazir provided the Stallions with just the initial boost required, scoring 45 from 15 balls, making the target of 192 look achievable but thanks to the bowling efforts of Yasim Murtaza,

Hammad Azam Hammad Azam ( Punjabi: حماد اعظم; born 16 March 1991) is a Pakistani cricketer, who plays as an all-rounder. He is a right-handed batman and a right-arm medium fast bowler. Domestic and franchise career In April 2018, he was named in ...

and

Sohail Tanvir Sohail Tanvir ( ur, ; born 12 December 1984) is a Pakistani cricketer, who has gained considerable international repute for his unorthodox left arm bowling action and particularly for the success it has gained him in the Twenty20 format of the ...

, a flurry of late wickets ensured that the Stallions would sit out of the finals for the first time since 2005. Before this game though, the Rams had got the better of

by 28 runs in their opening group clash. Afterwards, they had to get past

Shahid Afridi Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi ( ur, شاہد افریدی‎, ps, شاهد افریدی; born 1 March 1977), known as Shahid Afridi, is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. He is current ...

Karachi Dolphins The Karachi Dolphins was a limited overs cricket team based in Karachi which played in National One-day Championship and domestic Twenty20. The Dolphins' home ground was National Stadium in Karachi's north end. The Dolphins were considered one ...

to reach the finals. After being called in to bat, the Rams scored 209 runs in a mosquito-infested first innings which saw the proceeding being called off twice. However, the target got chased down with more than an over to spare as Sohail Tanvir's death bowling wavered under pressure, along with the Rams' overall fielding.

Shahzaib Hasan Mohammad Shahzaib Hasan Khan ( ur, ), (born 25 December 1989) is a Pakistani cricketer who has been banned for four years, for his involvement in spot-fixing. Previously, he played domestic cricket for Karachi Zebras, making his debut with them ...

Fawad Alam Fawad Tariq Alam (Urdu: فواد عالم, born 8 October 1985) is a Pakistani cricketer and actor who plays for Sindh cricket team, Sindh and the Pakistan national cricket team. He made his international debut for Pakistan in May 2007. He retur ...

and Shahid Afridi's innings contributed to the Dolphins' victory.

Naved Ashraf Mohammad Naved Ashraf Qureshi (born 4 September 1974) is a Pakistani cricketer. He is a right-handed batsman and a right-arm medium-pace bowler. Ashraf has played in two Test matches. He also had a minor foray into Twenty20 cricket Twe ...

was the most productive batsman for the Rams in the tournament, scoring 101 runs at an average in excess of 30. While among the bowlers, all-rounder Hammad Azam topped the charts with 8 scalps at 11.1 runs per over. Despite putting up a satisfactory performance, Rams' success on the ground was overshadowed by allegations of spot-fixing from the PCB. The

Pakistan Cricket Board The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan national cricket team. A member of the International Cricket Coun ...

announced that an all-rounder (most probably Sohail Tanvir) that played for the Rawalpindi Rams was being investigated for match-fixing. It is suspected that the player was being paid to play dot balls and bowl loose deliveries. This meant that the Karachi Dolphins successfully chased down 209 runs within 20 overs The PCB announced that another match was also being investigated for fixing.

2011 Faysal Bank Super 8 T20 Cup

PCB PCB may refer to: Science and technology * Polychlorinated biphenyl, an organic chlorine compound, now recognized as an environmental toxin and classified as a persistent organic pollutant * Printed circuit board, a board used in electronics * ...

, for the first time, introduced a side tournament to the National T20 cup. Qualification in this tournament was based on a relegation system and the five lowest ranked teams in the previous year's edition of the

Faysal Bank T20 Cup The National T20 Cup is a men's professional domestic Twenty20 cricket competition in Pakistan. Established in 2005, it is one of the world's oldest Twenty20 cricket leagues. It was the principal T20 competition in the country until 2016, when t ...

( Quetta Bears,

Lahore Eagles The Lahore Eagles was a Faysal Bank T20 Cup team, based in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The team was established in 2006 and its home ground was Gaddafi Stadium. See also * Pakistan Super League References External linksTwenty 20 Record page fo ...

Abbottabad Falcons The Abbottabad Falcons ( ur, ایبٹ آباد فالکنز) was a Pakistani men's professional Twenty20 cricket team that competed in the Haier T20 League and was based in Abbottabad, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The Falcons played at the Ab ...

and

Peshawar Panthers The Peshawar Panthers was a domestic T20 and List A cricket team based in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The team was established in 2004 and its home ground was Arbab Niaz Stadium. Winners Peshawar Panthers won Haier T20 Cup 2014-15 b ...

) were left out to set up a Super 8 T20 Cup in which eight teams were divided into two groups of four with top two teams from each group setting up semi-final matches with each other. Rawalpindi Rams started this tournament on a low note with a defeat at the hands of Karachi Dolphins which left them in a do-or-die situation to win their remnant group games or sit out of the semi-final. Chasing a modest score of 146, the Rams lost both their opening batsmen to Tanvir Ahmad's medium pacers with a paltry 33 on board. Subsequent, tight overs from the Karachi spinners ensured that the Rams never really recovered from the early blows and thus cascaded to 136 all out. In their second group game Rawalpindi Rams took on the home team

Faisalabad Wolves The Faisalabad Wolves was a domestic limited overs cricket team based in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. The team was established in 2004 and its home ground was Iqbal Stadium. The team were champions in the maiden season 2004–05 of the ABN-A ...

in a jam-packed

Iqbal Stadium Iqbal Stadium ( ur, اقبال سٹیڈیم) is a Test cricket ground in Faisalabad, Pakistan. Previous names for the ground include Lyallpur Stadium, National Stadium, and City Stadium. It was founded in October 1978. History Iqbal Stadium wa ...

. The Wolves went in first and gave the Rams a quite chase-able total of 141 but

Pakistan National Cricket Team The Pakistan national cricket team or Pak cricket team, often referred to as the Shaheens (), Green Shirts, Men in Green and Cornered Tigers is administered by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The team is a Full Member of the International C ...

veteran,

Mohammad Hafeez Mohammad Hafeez ( Punjabi and ur, ; born 17 October 1980) is a former Pakistani international cricketer. Hafeez was a versatile batsman who could bat anywhere in the top 6 and formed part of the bowling attack. He played as a spin bowling a ...

had other ideas as he triggered a drastic collapse with his off breaks. Rams were once cruising along at 90–0 but then in a matter of minutes were reduced to 120–6 giving the Wolves a sniff of a surprise victory in front of the home crowd. All such possibilities were shut out by the Rams' wicket-keeper batsman Jamal Anwar who struck 19 from 6 deliveries, included 3 fours & a six to bring the matter to a close. In their third and final group game, Rawalpindi Rams easily got past an off-color

Multan Tigers The Multan Tigers was a Pakistani Domestic T20 and List A Cricket team based in Multan, Punjab, Pakistan. The team was established in 2004 and its home ground is the Multan Cricket Stadium. The manager of the Tigers is Sheikh Saleem. Team Squ ...

side. The pursuit of a 129-run target on a batting friendly wicket wasn't much of a test for Pindi's batting lineup and they got there with 7 wickets and 5.3 overs to spare, thanks mostly to the left arm spin bowling of Raza Hasan (4 for 21 in his 4 overs). Rawalpindi Rams made their first ever appearance in a domestic T20 Cup Final by defeating a star-studded

in an anti-climax of a semi-final. Rams set up a competitive score of 186 in a pressure game thanks to Jamal Anwar's (67 runs off 48 balls including 6 fours & 3 sixes) and

's (60* off 44 balls including 5 fours & 3 sixes) fourth wicket stand of 111 from 68 balls. In reply the Lions were reduced to 88–8 in 13.2 but a late cameo from Adnan Rasool (41* off 24 balls) restored some parity to the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

score but they were still left needing 50 runs from the last bowl of the game. On Friday, July 1, 2011, history was written for the Rawalpindi Rams as they beat a strong Karachi Dolphins side in a nerve wrecking finale at a sold-out Iqbal Stadium. The Dolphins were coming back from defeating 5-time champions

in the other semi-final and were hot favorites to win the

Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

but some tight bowling from the Rams' bowlers especially, slow left armer Samiullah (4 overs for 19 runs), put a cap on Dolphins's batting lineup and kept them to a par score of 164 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply the Rams' openers started off in a typically fast style and were going at almost 10 runs-per-over, however the Dolphins fast-bowler,

Sohail Khan ) Lambda Velorum (λ Velorum, abbreviated Lambda Vel, λ Vel), officially named Suhail , is a star in the Southern celestial hemisphere, southern constellation of Vela (constellation), Vela. With a mean apparent visual magnitude of 2.21, ...

took two wickets in an over to stun the Rams. In Sohail's next over seasoned Rams opener,

Awais Zia Awais Zia (; born 1 September 1986) is a Pakistani cricketer. He is primarily a left handed batsman and right arm off spin bowler. Domestic and franchise career As a youngster, Zia got introduced to the game playing street cricket in his vill ...

, struck four consecutive boundaries and restarted Rams' quick advance towards the target but as so often is the case in cricket the bowler has the last laugh and Sohail ended up stopping the Awais Zia thanks to a superb fielding effort from Haaris Ayaz at mid-wicket who dived full length and pouched the catch with one hand. The match continued to see-saw both ways before it fittingly ended up as a tie and a Super Over was called in to provide the final ruling. The best bowler of the tournament was pitted against Awais Zia in the first of the two super overs (one per team). Awais scored 16 runs, including a flat six over midwicket, to give Karachi a challenging total of 17 to win from their 6 legitimate balls. In reply, Khalid Latif struck the very first bowl from left-arm spinner, Raza Hasan, straight back over his head for a six before falling the next ball. Dolphins could add only a single run to their total as Raza finished his over with an arm-ball that gave Rawalpindi Rams their first ever domestic T20 title. Wicket-keeper batsman Jamal Anwar was the most successful run-getter for the Rams (7th overall) in this edition of the tournament with 131 runs at an average of 43.6. While Raza Hasan was the second most potent bowler in this tournament (after Sohail Khan) with 11 wickets at 6.2 runs per over.

Result summary

T20 results

Records

The following are some verified records of the club.

Batting

* Most Runs: 889
Naved Maliik
(2006–Present) * Highest Individual Score: 86*, Mohammad Wasim, vs Quetta Bears (22 December 2006) * Highest Partnership for any Wicket: 135,

& Naved Maliik, vs

(6 December 2012) * Highest Total: 209–6, vs

, (15 October 2010) * Lowest Total: 105–10, vs

, (2 March 2006)

Bowling

* Most Wickets: 44,

(2005–Present) * Best Individual Bowling Figures: 5–23,

Shoaib Akhtar Shoaib Akhtar (; ; born 13 August 1975) is a Pakistani former cricketer and commentator. Nicknamed the "Rawalpindi Express", he was the first bowler to be recorded bowling at 100 miles per hour, a feat he achieved twice in his career. Ak ...

, vs Quetta Bears (25 April 2005) * Best Economy Rate: 6.90, Raza Hasan (2010–2011) - (''40 overs minimum'')

Fielding and wicket-keeping

* Most Dismissals as WK: 35
Jamal Anwar
(2008–Present) * Most Catches as Fielder: 14,

(2008–Present)

Miscellaneous

* Most Matches Played: 43,

(2005–Present) * Biggest Victories by Runs: 96 Runs, vs Quetta Bears (25 April 2005) * Smallest Victory by Runs: 5 Runs, vs

(2 December 2012) * Largest Victory by Wickets: 9 wickets, vs Quetta Bears (27 May 2009)

Notable players

* Naved Malik * Jamal Anwar *

* Mohammad Aamer * Hamza Ali

References

External links

Twenty 20 Record page for Rawalpindi Rams
{{Pakistan Twenty20 League Cricket clubs established in 2004 2004 establishments in Pakistan Cricket teams in Pakistan

Rams In engineering, RAMS (reliability, availability, maintainability and safety)