Bahawalpur’s fairytale ride continues

Newcomers down title-contenders Karachi by two wickets

KARACHI: Newcomers Bahawalpur Stags continued their fairytale run at the Faysal Bank National T20 Cup, registering their third successive win with a two-wicket defeat of title-contenders Karachi Dolphins at the Bagh-e-Jinnah Stadium in Lahore.

The result moved them closer to a place in the semi-finals, while Dolphins find themselves in a difficult situation after losing two of the three games in Group B.  One more loss for Shahid Afridi’s men could end their chances of getting into the last-four.

Chasing a target of 153, Stags’ lower middle-order came good as they chased down the target with three balls to spare. Opener Imranullah Aslam top-scored with a 32-ball 48, while cameos from Kamran Hussain (18), Usman Tariq (18) and Moin Uddin (14) sealed victory. Afridi starred with figures of two for 16 but the rest of the bowlers struggled.

Earlier, Dolphins made 152 for six as Aminur Rehman made 44 of 23 balls while Fawad Alam chipped in with 43. Mohammad Talha claimed three wickets while Ataullah bagged three scalps.

Lions tame Panthers

Meanwhile, Imran Farhat’s quickfire half-century gave Lahore Lions an easy 76-run win over Peshawar Panthers at the LCCA Ground.

Farhat struck 68 off 45 balls to propel Eagles to 162 for eight as Waqar Ahmed claimed three wickets. In reply, Panthers could only labour to 86 for eight as Mohammad Khalil and Saad Nasir dismissed two batsmen each.

In another match, Younus Khan scored an unbeaten 38 to guide Abbottabad Falcons to a narrow two-wicket win against Umar Gul’s Islamabad Leopards.

Falcons’ flight was cut short by Gul’s four-wicket burst as they nervously chased down a small target of with 120 for eight in 19.5 overs. Mir Azam hammered 59 off 35 balls clubbing two sixes and 10 fours but it was Khan who anchored the innings after a major collapse. Batting first, Leopards had made 116 for eight.

Elsewhere, Saeed Ajmal and company spread their magic as Faisalabad Wolves thrashed Hyderabad Hawks by eight wickets.

Batting first, Hawks put up a disappointing show, managing just 97 for eight. Ajmal, Asad Ali and Khurram Shehzad took two scalps each. In reply, Farrukh Shehzad’s unbeaten 57 gave Wolves an easy win.

Umar Akmal played the innings of the tournament so far, scoring a whirlwind 55 of just 21 balls to help Lahore Lion beat Multan Tigers by 30 runs. Ahmed Shahzad top-scored with 68, while Akmal launched four sixes and five strikes to the fence as Lions made 182 for four. In reply, Tigers ran out of overs and could only make 152 for five.

In the last match of the day, Shoaib Malik’s 50-run unbeaten knock helped Sialkot Stallions to a comfortable eight-wicket win against Karachi Zebras.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 4^th, 2012.