Shahzaib leads Dolphins’ thrashing of the Hawks

Shahzaib Hasan hits a whirlwind 76 off just 38 deliveries for Karachi Dolphins at Gaddafi Stadium.

KARACHI: Shahzaib Hasan hit a whirlwind 76 off just 38 deliveries as Karachi Dolphins beat Hyderabad Hawks by 20 runs in the Twenty20 Cup at Gaddafi Stadium.

Hasan  struck 12 boundaries and a six in his entertaining knock and led Dolphins to a competitive 195 for nine, the highest total of the tournament, before its bowlers restricted the Hawks to 175 off their quota to get Dolphins’ campaign off to a winning start.

Losing his partner Khalid Latif off the final ball of the first over, Hasan, who made his debut for Pakistan in the 2009 World Twenty20, shared a century stand with young Asad Shafiq (31). Captain Shahid Afridi shone briefly to ensure Hasan’s fireworks at the top of the order resulted in a total his bowlers could defend easily.

In reply, Mohammad Sami dismissed Azeem Ghumman and Sharjeel Khan to reduce the Hawks to 37 for two and returned to grab a third as Hyderabad were left needing too much at the end.

Wolves pounce on Bears

Faisalabad Wolves, led by Pakistan’s new Test captain Misbahul Haq, easily defeated Quetta Bears by 51 runs.

While the captain failed to contribute with the bat, his bowlers stuck to the task as they tore the Bears’ batting lineup apart. Asad Ali and Samiullah Khan started the rout as they reduced Quetta to 17 for three before allrounder Mohammad Hafeez and fast-bowler Shahid Nazir shared three wickets between them to virtually end the match.

Earlier, Hafeez (37) and Asif Hussain (53) set up the competitive total for the Wolves as the pair put on 70 off just 52 deliveries and even though the innings lost momentum after their dismissals, Naved Latif ensured his team crossed 150.

Tigers bring down the Falcons

Gulraiz Sadaf hit a composed 71 to lead Multan Tigers to a seven-wicket win as they chased down the 148-run
target set by Abbottabad Falcons.

Sadaf hit seven fours and a six as he paced his side’s reply after they were reduced to 23 for two. The wicket-keeper added 84 for the third wicket with Rameez Alam (32) and then put on 41 with Naved Yasin to finish the job with seven balls to spare.

Falcons, who lost their second match in a row, owed opener Mir Azam (41) and middle-order batsman Adnan Raees (42) as they carried their team to respectability after the first 13 overs yielded just 96 runs.

But the tall fast-bowler Mohammad Irfan pegged back the Falcons towards the end to finish with an impressive two for 11 off four overs.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 12^th, 2010.