National One-Day Cup: Muzammil, Ali take KRL to semis

Duo impress with bat and ball respectively to defeat HBL by 69 runs

KARACHI: A ton by Abdul Rehman Muzammil and a five-wicket haul by Yasir Ali ensured that KRL, who defeated HBL by 69 runs on Wednesday, top Pool B and progress to the semi-finals of the National One-Day Cup.

Asked to bat first, KRL, who now have 12 points from six games , posted a strong total of 327 runs as Muzammil made 159 while HBL were stopped in their tracks by Ali as he ran riot to restrict HBL to 258.

In another match, an unbeaten 75-run knock by Shan Masood saw UBL, who now have 11 points and top Pool A, book their place in the semi-final as they defeated SSGC by eight wickets at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad.



Asked to bat first, SSGC were restricted to 163 as Yasim Murtaza took three wickets. In reply, UBL reached the target in 25.5 overs as Masood made 75 while Naved Sarwar contributed 47 runs.

NBP, who sit second in Pool B with 10 points, edged towards semi-final qualification as they defeated Wapda by five wickets at the National Stadium of Karachi. Batting first, Wapda gave a 202-run target as Salman Butt made 95, but his efforts went in vain when NBP’s Kamran Akmal struck 77 and Nasir Jamshed made 62 to reach the target in 45.1 overs.

In another match, Islamabad, who are second in Pool A, won by 68 runs as they restricted Hyderabad to 202 at the National Ground in Islamabad, while Peshawar defeated Lahore Blues by four runs at the Pindi Stadium.



SNGPL defeated PQA by 21 runs at the Marghzar Ground in Islamabad, while Karachi Whites defeated Rawalpindi by four wickets at the NBP Sports Complex in Karachi.

In the last match, Lahore Whites defeated Fata by a huge 160-run margin at the UBL Complex in Karachi to conclude the fifth round of the National One-Day Cup.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2016.

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