President’s Cup Silver League: WAPDA into final with four-wicket win
The side will face Hawks in the final as Wolves collapse after strong start.
The side will face Hawks in the final as Wolves collapse after strong start. PHOTO: STOCK IMAGE
KARACHI:
An excellent unbeaten knock of 52 by right-handed batsman Aamer Sajjad steered Wapda into the final of the President’s Cup Silver League as they defeated Faisalabad Wolves by four wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday.
All three teams in the triangular stage won a match each but Wapda and Hyderabad Hawks qualify for the final due to their superior net run-rate and will fight it out for the title on February 9.
Put in to bat first, Wolves started strongly and Wapda bowlers were made to toil hard in a 160-run opening stand. However, a dramatic collapse followed once Rafatullah Mohmand stumped Imran Ali on 65 off Iftikhar Ahmed’s delivery as the Faisalabad side lost all 10 wickets for just 61 runs. Fellow opener Iftikhar also impressed as he high-scored with 88 but was dismissed in the next over.
Zulfiqar Babar was one of the chief catalysts of the collapse as he took a quick-fire triple to send the middle order packing in no time.
In reply, Wapda lost their openers, Muhammad Fayyaz (six) and Ahmed (12), inside the first 10 overs to skipper Fahim Ashraf. Then Ashraf dismissed Adnan Raees on eight and wicketkeeper Mohmand scored 25 off 27 delivers before he was run out by Shan.
The experienced Sajjad then steadied the ship with 92 off 122 deliveries, being involved in a strong fifth-wicket partnership of 117 with Ayaz Tasawwar, who scored 52 off 62 balls, to take the game away from Wolves.
Sajjad then built another partnership of 44 with captain Rana Navedul Hasan, who scored 20 off 27 deliveries. It was therefore fitting that Sajjad finished the match with back-to-back boundaries.
Winning captain Rana praised the team for bouncing back after poor starts with both bat and ball. “Even after facing a strong opening partnership, our bowlers kept their focus on taking wickets,” Rana told The Express Tribune. “It was a good combination of bowling and fielding, which helped us take quick wickets.”
Meanwhile, Ashraf was left lamenting his side’s mistakes. “Even after a good start, we were unable to post a good score as the middle-order collapsed.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2015.
An excellent unbeaten knock of 52 by right-handed batsman Aamer Sajjad steered Wapda into the final of the President’s Cup Silver League as they defeated Faisalabad Wolves by four wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday.
All three teams in the triangular stage won a match each but Wapda and Hyderabad Hawks qualify for the final due to their superior net run-rate and will fight it out for the title on February 9.
Put in to bat first, Wolves started strongly and Wapda bowlers were made to toil hard in a 160-run opening stand. However, a dramatic collapse followed once Rafatullah Mohmand stumped Imran Ali on 65 off Iftikhar Ahmed’s delivery as the Faisalabad side lost all 10 wickets for just 61 runs. Fellow opener Iftikhar also impressed as he high-scored with 88 but was dismissed in the next over.
Zulfiqar Babar was one of the chief catalysts of the collapse as he took a quick-fire triple to send the middle order packing in no time.
In reply, Wapda lost their openers, Muhammad Fayyaz (six) and Ahmed (12), inside the first 10 overs to skipper Fahim Ashraf. Then Ashraf dismissed Adnan Raees on eight and wicketkeeper Mohmand scored 25 off 27 delivers before he was run out by Shan.
The experienced Sajjad then steadied the ship with 92 off 122 deliveries, being involved in a strong fifth-wicket partnership of 117 with Ayaz Tasawwar, who scored 52 off 62 balls, to take the game away from Wolves.
Sajjad then built another partnership of 44 with captain Rana Navedul Hasan, who scored 20 off 27 deliveries. It was therefore fitting that Sajjad finished the match with back-to-back boundaries.
Winning captain Rana praised the team for bouncing back after poor starts with both bat and ball. “Even after facing a strong opening partnership, our bowlers kept their focus on taking wickets,” Rana told The Express Tribune. “It was a good combination of bowling and fielding, which helped us take quick wickets.”
Meanwhile, Ashraf was left lamenting his side’s mistakes. “Even after a good start, we were unable to post a good score as the middle-order collapsed.”
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2015.