President’s Cup Gold league: SBP chase down 257 for the loss of one wicket

Openers make centuries as bankers make 262-1 against Lahore Lions

KARACHI: Centuries by openers Babar Azam and Mukhtar Ahmed guided SBP to their second victory of the President’s Cup Gold league as they defeated Lahore Lions by nine wickets at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Chasing 257, the bankers made light work of a potentially tricky target, making 262-1 in 45.3 overs as Azam made 129 off 130 balls and Ahmed scored 111.

Earlier, Lions scored 256-9 in their allotted 50 overs, with the help of Saad Nasim’s 72 and Muhammad Ikhlaq’s 67. Zafar Gohar was the pick of the bowlers for SBP, taking 4-52 runs.

In another match, Muhammad Hassan’s century helped Karachi Dolphins win their first match by seven wickets over ZTBL, who were given a walkover in their first match against Peshawar Panthers.

Chasing 279 in a match reduced to 45 overs, Dolphins reached their target in just 41.2 overs as Hassan smashed an unbeaten 131 off 117 balls, while Fazal Subhan and Rameez Raja Junior made 25 runs apiece. Batting first, ZTBL made 278-5 in their 45 overs with the help of four half centuries — with Sharjeel Khan, Shoaib Malik, Abdul Razzaq and Yasir Hameed all crossing the 50-run mark.

At the South End Club in Karachi, SNGPL embarrassed Rawalpindi Rams by dismissing them for just 53 before reaching the target in 10.1 over to win by 10 wickets.

All SNGPL bowlers were on the money as Atif Jabbar took 3-13 and Asad Ali, Imran Khalid, Hussain Jalat took two; each giving away just 14, 18 and four runs respectively. Haseeb Azam was the Rams’ highest scorer with 12.

Meanwhile, Peshawar Panthers won their first match by 24 runs over NBP as Taj Wali took 3-40 runs and Jibran Khan 2-20 to dismiss NBP for 195 in 37.3 overs, who were unable to chase down a modest target of 220.

Panthers had scored 219-7 in 38 overs with the help of Akbar Badshah’s 42 and Israrullah’s 37, while Muhammad Asghar took three wickets.

At the National Stadium of Karachi, KRL won by seven wickets against Islamabad Leopards as they reached the 238-run target in 44.3 over with the help of Zain Abbas’s 85 off 115 and Muhammad Yasin’s 72 off 66.

Earlier, batting first, Leopards were restricted to 237 in 48.3 overs as Sadaf Huassin took four wickets, giving away 40 runs, while Imad Wasim made 89 off 95 balls.

Khurram Manzoor guided PQA to an eight-wicket win over Karachi Zebras. Chasing 201, PQA reached their target in 36.2 overs as Manzoor struck 83 off 85 balls and Khalid Latif scored 59.

Earlier, Zebras made 200-8 in 50 overs as Muhammad Altaf dismissed four batsmen with Azam Hussain dismissing two, while Saud Shakeel’s 57 made him the top scorer for the Karachi side.

 

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