All to play for as final spots up for grabs

Panthers, Stallions go into the last four with perfect records.

KARACHI: Reigning champions Lahore Lions made it to the semi-finals of the Haier National Twenty20 Cup at the National Stadium of Karachi, where they will face Multan Tigers on Saturday. Sialkot Stallions will face Peshawar Panthers in the other semi-final, which will also take place the same day.

The Abdur Rehman-led Stallions have been the strongest team of the tournament so far, winning all of its group matches and boasting several in-form players.

Defending champions Lions are playing with their B team as their A team is competing in the Champions League Twenty20 in India, and have produced some mixed performances in the tournament so far.

Although Lions boast several players with international experience, including captain Azhar Ali, wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal and pacer Muhammad Irfan, Rehman believes his side will be favourites if they are to meet Lions in the final. “Lions are a strong side but we have the capability to beat them,” Rehman told The Express Tribune. “I’ve been playing for Stallions for a long time and I’ve never seen our top-order gel together as well as it has in this tournament. If they can fire in two more matches, the title can be ours.”

The captain’s confidence is not unfounded. Opener Mukhtar Ahmed is second on the batting charts with 195 runs, while all-rounder Bilawal Bhatti is the leading wicket-taker with nine wickets.

Meanwhile, Panthers will also fancy their chances as they also boast a 100% record from their group matches, as Imran Khan sits joint-top on the wicket-taking charts with Bhatti.

Multan Tigers seem to be the weakest link in the semis as they qualified over Rawalpindi Rams thanks to a superior Net Run-Rate (NRR).

Lions qualify for the semis

Lions capitalised on a poor batting display from Abbottabad Falcons to march to a comfortable seven-wicket win and climb to the top of Group D in the group decider. Lions finished level on points with Falcons but progressed due to a better NRR.

Put in to bat, Falcons were dismissed cheaply for 131 in 19.4 overs as Emmad Ali and Qaiser Ashraf claimed two wickets each. No batsmen stood out for Falcons as Ahmed Jamal high-scored with 29.

In reply, Lions reached the target with 15 balls to spare as Akmal smashed 39 off 29 balls.

Comfortable win for Lahore Eagles

Sami Aslam guided Lahore Eagles to a seven-wicket victory over AJK Jaguars in their dead rubber Group C fixture.



Chasing 106, a 79-run opening partnership between Aslam and Muhammad Naeem Junior helped the Eagles reach their target in 14.3 overs.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27^th, 2014.

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