Stallions gallop over Hawks and Bulls

Unfancied Sialkot side wins two matches to maintain perfect record.

KARACHI: Sialkot Stallions made a tremendous start to their Haier T20 cup campaign as they defeated Hyderabad Hawks on Thursday night and then registered another spirited win over Larkana Bulls in their Group A fixture on Friday at the National Stadium, Karachi.

Captain Abdur Rehman is the only international player in the Stallions team, while the two team they have faced so far, Bulls and Hawks, boast an array of talented young players.

Bulls have now lost their third match in a row; having already lost against Karachi Dolphins and Quetta Bears by five and 10 wickets respectively.

Chasing 153, Stallions reached their target with five balls to spare as Ali Khan hit 48 off just 19 balls; smashing three hits out of the park and five to the fence, including the winning boundary

Ali remained not out, whereas an opening partnership of 67 runs between Mansoor Amjad (37) and Mukhtar Ahmad (30) helped Stallions get off to a steady start.

Earlier, opting to bat first, Larkana Bulls were restricted to 149 in their 20 overs as Nayyer Abbas took three top order wickets while only giving away only 25 runs. Bilawal Bhatti’s two wickets and Mansoor Amjad lone scalp helped keep Bulls in check.

However, Zafar Ali’s 59 runs off 44 balls – with two sixes and six fours – and Ghulam Ali’s 39 helped Bulls post a respectable total.

Multan Tigers defeat Fata Cheetahs

In the other match of the day, Shoaib Maqsood helped guide Multan Tigers to a close victory as they defeated Fata Cheetahs by four runs in their second Group B match on Friday.

Tigers chose to bat first and Maqsood struck four sixes and seven fours to add 78 off 54 balls as the Multan side posted a total of 148 for the loss of five wickets in their allotted 20 overs. Gulraiz Sadaf’s 35-run cameo also helped the winners.

Asif Afridi, the hero for the Cheetahs in their last match, took two wickets, while Zeeshan Khan, Usman Khan Shirwani and Irfanullah claimed one wicket each.

In reply, Cheetahs were only able to score 144 for the loss of four wickets in 20 overs. Other than opener Khushdil Shah and Muhammad Naeem Senior – who scored 61 and 36 respectively – Cheetahs batsmen failed to stamp their authority on the game.

Mohammad Irfan and Shoaib Maqsood took one wicket each, giving away 10 and 38 runs respectively, while the other two wickets fell to run outs.

Stallions defeat Hawks

In Thursday’s night match, Sialkot Stallions defeated Hyderabad Hawks by eight wickets in their opening match of the Haier T20 Cup.

Chasing 165, Stallions reached the target with an over to spare as Shahid Yousuf scored 56 off 38 balls, and Haris Sohail (47) and Mukhtar Ahmed (33) also chipped in with useful contributions. Nasir Awais and Nauman Ali took one wicket each for the Hawks.



Earlier, Hawks had posted a strong total of 164 as Azeem Ghumman scored 74 off 58 balls but were unable to defend the tally. Bilawal Bhatti took four wickets for 25 runs to prevent the Hawks from posting an even more  daunting target.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 20^th, 2014.

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