Imran Nazir’s blitz hands ZTBL comfortable win

Opener smashes 83-ball 189 against SNGPL in President Trophy tie.

LAHORE: Discarded batsman Imran Nazir slammed a whirlwind 189 as ZTBL defeated reigning champions SNGPL by 109 runs in their President’s One-Day Trophy round-two match at the National Ground in Islamabad.

SNGPL won the toss and opted to bowl first, but their decision went horribly wrong as ZTBL amassed 367 in a mere 41.2 overs. Nazir faced 83 balls in his scintillating knock which included nine sixes and 26 boundaries.

Haris Sohail chipped in with 58 while Shareel Khan (29) and Abdul Razzaq (27) played useful knocks. Test batsman Azhar Ali claimed a five-wicket haul while Asad Ali snared three scalps.



In reply, SNGPL were all out for 258 in 36 overs as the match was disturbed by weather. Azhar followed his five-wicket haul with an innings of 106 off 76 laced with two sixes and 11 boundaries. Left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar claimed five wickets while Nazir took two wickets.

Meanwhile, the SNGPL team management had an altercation with match referee Saadat Ali as they wanted the Duckworth-Lewis Method (D/L) paper, but Saadat was unable to provide it.

“The weather keeps changing in Punjab and every team will need D/L method papers which match referees should provide,” a SNGPL official told The Express Tribune.

When the concerned PCB officials were contacted, they said that the departments’ teams needed to do their homework and make requisite preparations for their matches.

Manzoor scores unbeaten ton in PQA win

Test opener Khurram Manzoor scored an unbeaten century in PQA’s resounding eight-wicket victory against PTV at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Set a target of 232, PQA raced to 233 for two in just 35.3 overs as Manzoor struck 128 with two sixes and 18 strikes to the fence while Shahzaib Hasan scored 66 off 44 balls.

Earlier, PTV scored 231 for eight in 45 overs after being rattled early on by Mohammad Sami, who took two wickets in his first over. Imran Ali made 103 with 11 boundaries after his catch was dropped early on.

In another match, Adil Raza and Atif Maqbool took four wickets apiece to help UBL to a five-wicket win against Wapda at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Elsewhere, PIA defeated HBL by two runs on D/L method, courtesy of Shoaib Malik’s 64-run knock at the Marghazar Ground in Islamabad while KRL won by 64 runs against SBP.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 6^th, 2013.

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