Haier Pentangular Cup: Battle lines drawn between Warriors and Fighters

Balochistan, K-P outfits to fight for title in final today

KARACHI: Man-of-the-match Sohaib Maqsood’s century enabled Balochistan Warriors to book their place against Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Fighters in the Haier Pentangular Cup final after a thrilling one-wicket victory over Punjab Badshahs in their semi-final yesterday at the National Stadium, Karachi.

Warriors had to chase down a huge target of 316 runs in 41.2 overs to qualify for the final according to the winning run rate, which they reached just two balls to go.

Maqsood slammed 15 strikes to the fence and four big hits over the boundary in his 86-ball stay, finishing with 125 runs. Skipper Azhar Ali also struck 12 fours in his 72 runs off 56 balls to reach the 316-run target in 41 overs.

Earlier, Nasir Jamshed of Badshahs, who was declared the batsman of the match, smashed 158 off 140 balls.

The final of the first-class tournament will see a tough competition as both teams have won three matches and lost one each. Fighters, who won their first three matches and lost their last fixture against Badshahs. While Warriors, who lost their opening match against Fighters, won their last three fixtures.

Players to look out for

In the last encounter of the finalists, Fighters’ Zafar Gohar and Muhammad Sami took four and three wickets respectively to restrict Warriors on 136, while the target was chased in 35.4 overs with seven wickets remaining as Shoaib Malik, Israrullah and Adil Amin contributed.

Fighters, whose two bowlers Yasir Shah and Junaid Khan have been named in Pakistan’s 15-member squad for the World Cup, possess a key bowler in Gohar, who has taken eight wickets so far after bowling 30.2 overs and giving away 150 runs.

In their batting lineup, Fighters have Israrullah with a tournament average of 51.75, scoring 207 runs off 285 balls, and Muhammad Rizwan, who has a tournament average of 43.75 with 175 runs off 202 balls.

On the other hand, Warriors have Ehsan Adil and Muhmmad Irfan from the World Cup squad besides 26-year-old left-armer Rahat Ali, who has seven wickets to his name. Warriors’ captain Azhar is the key batsmen for them, boasting a tournament average of 69.66 with 209 runs off 267 balls, while Maqsood has 178 off 128 balls in three matches with a brilliant strike rate of 139.06 and a tournament average of 59.33.

Rizwan appeared confident of winnings the final, saying his team has had time to practice. “We have been practicing for three days and have been working on our weak areas which we observed in our four fixtures,” he told The Express Tribune while watching the second semi-final.

“Although we have defeated Warriors earlier, we cannot take them lightly after watching today’s match as they have made a great comeback in their last three matches,” he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2015.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.