In a tight contest, Karachi Dolphins, requiring 26 to win off the final over, lost by five runs at the Gaddafi Stadium in front of a crowd of 5,000. Middle-order batsman Fawad Alam, who scored an unbeaten 40 off 17 deliveries, smashed 20 runs off five deliveries through two sixes and a boundary, before being beaten by Sohail Tanvir off the final ball.
Umar Amin scored a half-century and bowled an economical spell to be adjudged the man of the match.
After having chosen to bat first, Rawalpindi started briskly as the openers put on 64 runs in 44 deliveries. The top four batsmen progressively outscored each other, with No. 3 Babar Naeem, who scored 44, and Amin consolidating on the solid platform laid by the openers. Captain Shahid Afridi was expensive, giving away 49 runs in his four overs, as Rawalpindi scored 188.
Karachi, in their chase, suffered an early blow when opener Shahzaib Hasan was dismissed for a duck off the second ball of the innings. His partner Khurram Manzoor kept Karachi in the chase with two productive partnerships of 51 runs and 49 runs respectively for the second and the third wicket. But with the required run rate climbing steadily, Alam and Tanvir Ahmed added 53 in five overs to keep them in the hunt. But Karachi fell short.
Scores: Rawalpindi Rams 188 for 5 (Amin 52*, Naeem 44, Malik 39) beat Karachi Dolphins 183 for 7 (Manzoor 50, Alam 40*, Tanvir 33) by five runs
Malik helps Stallions through
Captain Shoaib Malik scored a half-century and took four wickets to help Sialkot Stallions to a 72-run triumph in the opening match of the day in Lahore. Chasing 150, Quetta lost wickets regularly, and were in trouble at 50 for 6, before Jalat Khan provided some resistance by scoring 17. But the target proved beyond them.
Sialkot, after being asked to bat first, began positively with their openers putting on 21 for the first wicket. They wobbled when Haris Sohail was run out for 11 but captain Malik, who scored 51, and Shahid Yousuf laid the anchor for a strong total with a 57-run partnership. For Quetta, Nazar Hussain, the left-arm seamer, took his career-best figures of 3 for 16.
Scores: Sialkot Stallions 149 for 7 (Malik 51, Hussain 3-16) beat Quetta Bears 77 for 6 (Jalat Khan 17, Malik 4-13) by 72 runs
Lions beat Falcons
Kamran Akmal’s aggressive half-century and Mohammad Hafeez’s four wickets drove Lahore Lions to a 30-run victory against Abbottabad Falcons in Lahore. Chasing a stiff 187, Abbottabad were off to a brisk start courtesy of a 45-run opening stand between Yasir Hameed and Mir Azam. Hameed, who scored 45, added a further 54 with captain Younis Khan. But quick wickets thereafter pegged them back and they stumbled to fall 31 runs short.
Lions were earlier off to a similar dominant start, with openers Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad scoring 51 in 7.2 overs. No. 3 Akmal consolidated on the platform to score 59 off 33 deliveries to push them to 148 before falling in the 17th over. His younger brother Umar scored a quick 22 to take them to 186.
They picked their first wicket in the seventh over, when left-arm spinner Mustafa Iqbal dismissed Azam. But at 99 for 1, they lost three wickets for six runs, which jolted them. Although middle-order batsman Khalid Usman scored a quick 27, it wasn’t enough.
Scores: Lahore Lions 186 for 7 (Kamran 59, Jamal 2-37) beat Abbottabad Falcons 156 for 6 (Younis Khan 47, Hafeez 4-25) by 30 runs.
