LAHORE – HBL won the Faysal Bank National Cup Division One title, beating National Bank by 64 runs in the final here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday.
Put into bat, HBL had a jittery start when opener Imran Farhat was run out for a duck, but Taufeeq Umar and Humayun Farhat kept the score ticking until it reach 48. Humayun (32) was the first to return to the pavilion and Umar (35) followed when the score reached 103. Saleem Elahi and Shan Masood consolidated the innings total to 273 for nine. NBP’s Uzair-ul-Haq was the pick of the bowlers, grabbing four wicket. Mohammad Talha took two while Hammad Azam got one wicket.
In reply, NBP were restrained by Shahid Nazir’ four-wicket haul to 209 runs in 43.4 overs. Apart from Fawad Alam (82), no batsman was oble to offer any resistance. Voctory remained a distant dream as NBP were reduced to 44-4. Fawad provided some hope but was without support from the other end. HBL’s Danish Kaneria and M. Aalam, with two wickets each, provided the impetus required for victory.
The winners pocketed Rs 500,000 while NBP got Rs 250,000. M. Talha and Uzair-ul-Haq were the best bowlers of the tournament, taking 21 wickets each, while Imran Farhat with 476 runs was the best batsman. Umar Amin was declared Best Fielder with seven catches and Humayun Farhat, Amin-ur-Rehman and Adnan Akmal were the best wicketkeepers with 11 dismissals and were awarded Rs 50,000 each.
