Ton-up Zia helps Rams batter Cheetahs

Hawks hunt down Bears, Dolphins outplay Bulls.

KARACHI: Opener Awais Zia’s century enabled former champions Rawalpindi Rams to crush debutants Fata Cheetas by eight wickets in the second match of the National Haier T20 Cup’s opening day at the National Stadium, Karachi.

Rams are featuring international players Sohail Tanvir, Awais Zia and Hammad Azam, while Cheetas are fielding a talented array of youngsters.

Chasing 141 on Wednesday, Rams reached their target in 15.2 overs, losing just two wickets in the process. Zia’s brilliant 100 off 55 balls, including four sixes and 13 strikes to the fence, was the dominant contribution, while Zahid Mansoor hit 23 off 22 deliveries.

Usman Khan Shirwani and Irfanullah took one wicket each, giving away 21 and 28 runs respectively.

Earlier, Cheetas chose to bat first and posted 141-6 in their allotted 20 overs. Rams’ Samiullah claimed two important wickets as he dismissed Rehan Afridi, who scored 43 off 16 balls and Majid Khan (26). Nasir Malik also took two wickets, giving away 24 runs.

Meanwhile, Lal Kumar of Hyderabad Hawks displayed an all-round performance, scoring a quickfire 22 off 12 and taking three wickets as his team beat Quetta Bears by seven runs in the opening match of the day.

Pursuing 165, Bears were restricted to 157-7 in their 20 overs as Kumar put on the brakes, conceding 43 runs.

Mohibullah top-scored with 40 for Bears, while wicketkeeper Bismillah Khan accumulated 37 runs in an otherwise poor performance.

Earlier, Hawks posted 164-7 as man-of-the-match Shoaib Laghari played a cameo of 58 with six sixes and one strike to the fence. Faisal Akhtar reinforced the score with 48, including seven boundaries and a six.

Ghulam Muhammad bagged three wickets for 30 and Jalat Khan took two scalps for the same number of runs.

In another match, Asad Shafiq’s dazzling 64 helped Karachi Dolphins beat Larkana Bulls by five wickets.

Batting first, Bulls were restricted to 123-6 in their 20 overs as Anwar Ali took three wickets. Meanwhile, Muhammad Sami and Fawad Khan picked up one wicket each.

Ghulam Yasin (44) and Muhammad Urs (26) were the top two scorers for the losing side.

In reply, Dolphins reached their target with eight balls to spare as Shafiq remained unbeaten and smashed eight boundaries in his knock.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 18^th, 2014.

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