Hasan century takes Karachi Whites into final

Islamabad defeated by 70 runs as former Pakistan opener smashes 171

KARACHI: Former Pakistan opener Shahzaib Hasan was in ruthless form as he tore apart the Islamabad side in the National One Day Cup for regions semi-final to guide his Karachi Whites side to the final at the National Stadium of Karachi thanks to a comfortable 70-run win.

Hasan smashed a 171 off just 117 balls, using his typically brute force to punish the Islamabad bowlers in the first semi-final. The opener’s knock was powered by 18 fours and seven sixes, meaning that he made 114 of his runs in boundaries.

He was involved in two solid partnerships, first with skipper Akbarur Rehman, who played second fiddle during their 162-run stand as he scored a serene 58 off 85 balls.

“I really wanted to play a match-winning knock for the team and take them to the final,” Hasan told The Express Tribune. “I tried to play each ball on its merit and I am glad that I was able to find the boundaries.”

Hasan was also happy that the match was moved to his hometown where the weather is much conducive to cricket. “It was a really good match and we enjoyed playing the full 50 overs since we couldn’t do it in Pindi and Islamabad.”

The opener already has his eyes on the final and warned his side that it won’t be easy, despite the emphatic nature of the semi-final win.

But once Rehman was dismissed things got even worse for Islamabad as the aggression started from both sides. Saad Ali, who joined Hasan, smashed 61 off just 45 balls to first be involved in a 55-ball 83-run stand with the opener before joining hands with all-rounder Anwar Ali.

Anwar (45 off 28 balls) and Tariq Haroon’s (31 off 18 balls) handy cameos took Karachi to 375-6.

None of the bowlers covered themselves in glory but Shehzad Azam claimed 3-81 in nine overs and Hamza Nadeem 1-60.

Despite the batting-friendly nature of the pitch, the total was always going to be a difficult one to chase down for Islamabad and so it proved.

After a swift start, talisman Ahmad Shahzad was dismissed for 15 off 12 balls by pacer Tabish Khan with the score at 39 before Sarmad Bhatti was run out for just three to leave Islamabad reeling at 45-2.

Left-handed opener Shan Masood and Abid Ali settled the ship with a 99-run partnership but they were always playing catch-up as the run-rate continued to climb despite the duo scoring quickly. It was pretty much game, set and match when Abid was dismissed by a superb direct throw from the deep by Tabish.

Masood went on to score a fighting 136 off 116 balls but it was always going to be a fight in vain as wickets kept tumbling at a regular basis after that.

“It is disappointing when you don’t reach the final after coming so close,” said Masood. “I have been performing well and did as much as I could but Karachi Whites played superbly.”

Anwar, who recently expressed his wish to return to the international circuit, claimed a five-wicket haul to add to his 45 with the bat. Giving away just 49 runs in his 9.1 overs, Anwar’s figures were also the most economical as Islamabad eventually fell 70 runs short.