Regional one-day cup: Tanvir stars as Rawalpindi beat Islamabad

Left-arm pacer bag four-for as teammates score three half-tons to reach 197-run target

KARACHI: Four wickets by skipper Sohail Tanvir and three half-centuries helped Rawalpindi win their opening match of the National Regional One-Day Cup by four wickets against Islamabad at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Asked to bat first, Islamabad were restricted to 196-9 in their allotted 50 overs as Tanvir took four wickets for 43 runs, while Sadaf Hussain and Yasir Ali took two wickets each for 34 and 43 runs, respectively.

Chasing 197, Rawalpindi reached the target in 40.1 overs with four wickets remaining courtesy unbeaten half-century by Iftikhar Ahmed (61 off 53), and two more half-tons by Naved Malik (60 off 66) and Azhar Ali (52 off 84). Hamza Nadeem and Raza Hasan bagged two wickets each for Islamabad.

In the other match, three wickets each by Anwar Ali, Rahat Ali and Ziaul Haq helped Karachi Whites to their opening victory over Faisalabad by five wickets. Asked to bat first, Faisalabad were restricted to 77 runs in 36 overs as Anwar, Rahat and Zia wreaked havoc.

Karachi Whites, chasing 78 runs, reached the target in 25 overs with five wickets remaining. Faisalabad’s Waqas Maqsood was able to take three wickets.

In the match at National Ground in Islamabad, an unbeaten 94-run knock by Usman Salahuddin helped Lahore Whites beat Lahore Blues by two wickets.

Asked to bat first, Lahore Blues, despite riding on Saad Ali’s 96-run knock were restricted to 272 in 43 overs as Umaid Asif took three wickets for 47 runs.

Chasing 273, Lahore Whites reached the target in 43 overs losing eight wickets as unbeaten Salahuddin scored 94 off 85 balls, hitting five fours and two sixes. For Lahore Blues, Raza Ali Dar, Qaiser Ashraf and Aizaz Cheema took two wickets each.

In the fourth match of the day at Diamond Ground, Sahibzada Farhan’s 88-run knock helped Peshawar defeat FATA by seven wickets. Asked to bat first, FATA were restricted to 219 in 46.4 overs as Zohaib Ahmed, Azizullah and Taj Wali took two wickets each for 34, 45 and 49 runs, respectively. FATA’s Khushdil Shah (61) was their top scorer.

Chasing 220, Peshawar reached 223 in 45.1 overs with seven wickets in hand as Farhan scored 88 off 107 balls courtesy eight fours and a six. For FATA, Sohail Akhtar took two wickets.