Cricket: Shabbir guides UBL into semis

Batting first, UBL piled up 148 with useful knocks from M Sami and Itimadul Haq.

KARACHI: Former Pakistan fast-bowler Shabbir Ahmed shone with bat and ball as UBL beat HBL by 12 runs to seal their place in the semi-finals of the Advance Telecom Corporate T20 Cup. Batting first, UBL piled up 148 with useful knocks from M Sami (33) and Itimadul Haq (30). Skipper Shabbir then hit 24 off 12 balls with the aid of two sixes and two fours. Fawad Khan claimed three wickets for 26 while Fahim Ahmed took two. HBL needed to chase the target in 16.2 overs to sneak through ahead of Advance Telecom but fell short despite Shan Masood’s 33 off 27 balls and Haris Ayaz’s  32 off 20 balls.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2012.