Third day witnessed another classic T20 match between Karachi Zebras and Abbottabad Falcons. The see-saw battle was won by Kaneria’s team. Lahore’s major team and defenders, Lions, had heartbreak when they crashed out of the tournament, at the hands of 5-time winners Sialkot.
Late cameo from number nine, Saeed Khan enabled Quetta to post 125 against a stronger batting line-up Lahore eagles. Junaid Zia was the pick of the bowlers, giving only 17 runs for his two wickets, in a disciplined bowling performance from the Eagles.
Quetta then looked helplessly Eagles chase down the target in 17th over with the loss of a solitary wicket of Imran Farhat, who made an exact 50. Taufeeq, too, remained unbeaten on the same score.
An unbeaten 132-run 5th wicket stand between Hasan Raza and Rameez Aziz kept Zebras alive in the tournament. After being reduced to 28 for four, chasing 158, both batsmen batted intelligently as Falcons failed to separate them. Remarkably they did it without hitting a single six.
Requiring 8 to win off the last over, Hasan Raza (74 off 50 balls with 11 fours) hit a boundary off the fourth ball and then a single to give strike to Aziz off the last ball, 3 still left. Ramiz (67 off 53 balls with 10 fours), who earlier had failed to connect an attempted paddle sweep, tried again, and though looked ungainly, he turned a full toss to third man for the wining boundary.
Falcons’ total was built around Yasir Hameed and skipper Younis Khan (42 off 32). Hameed continued his run of form with a 51-ball 73. Kaneria took 3 for 32.
Brilliant bowling enabled Stallions to limit strong batting line-up of Lions under a paltry target. They were all out for 121, as apart from Abdul Razzaq who scored 42 off 33 balls, no batsmen could break free.
Ahmed Shehzad fell victim to an Amir Sohail-like indiscretion as Sarfraz aggressiveness sucked him in. Sarfraz bowled brilliantly as did the two left-arm spinners, Raza Hasan and Abdur Rehman – all taking two scalps each. Naved-ul-Hasan took three for 30 to hasten Lions’ slide.
In reply, Stallions were measured in their chase, as man of the match Shahid Yousuf (47 off 52) and Shakeel Ansar batted under run a ball. With five balls to spare, Shoaib Malik hit the winning runs – his wife Sania Mirza witnessing it sitting in the VIP gallery.
With this loss, Lahore Lions are out of the competition after just one loss, result of strange draws conceived by the PCB.
Venue: National stadium, Karachi September 27, 2011
Scorecard credit: CricketArchives.com
Group A: Lahore Eagles breeze past Quetta Bears
Quetta then looked helplessly Eagles chase down the target in 17th over with the loss of a solitary wicket of Imran Farhat, who made an exact 50. Taufeeq, too, remained unbeaten on the same score.
Click for scorecard
Group A: Karachi Zebras pull off a last-ball thriller against Abbottabad Falcons
Requiring 8 to win off the last over, Hasan Raza (74 off 50 balls with 11 fours) hit a boundary off the fourth ball and then a single to give strike to Aziz off the last ball, 3 still left. Ramiz (67 off 53 balls with 10 fours), who earlier had failed to connect an attempted paddle sweep, tried again, and though looked ungainly, he turned a full toss to third man for the wining boundary.
Falcons’ total was built around Yasir Hameed and skipper Younis Khan (42 off 32). Hameed continued his run of form with a 51-ball 73. Kaneria took 3 for 32.
Click for scorecard
Group C: Defending champs Lahore Lions ousted by last time runners-up Sialkot Stallions
Ahmed Shehzad fell victim to an Amir Sohail-like indiscretion as Sarfraz aggressiveness sucked him in. Sarfraz bowled brilliantly as did the two left-arm spinners, Raza Hasan and Abdur Rehman – all taking two scalps each. Naved-ul-Hasan took three for 30 to hasten Lions’ slide.
In reply, Stallions were measured in their chase, as man of the match Shahid Yousuf (47 off 52) and Shakeel Ansar batted under run a ball. With five balls to spare, Shoaib Malik hit the winning runs – his wife Sania Mirza witnessing it sitting in the VIP gallery.
With this loss, Lahore Lions are out of the competition after just one loss, result of strange draws conceived by the PCB.
Click for scorecard
Scorecard credit: CricketArchives.com
Published in SportPulse.net on 28 Sep 2011
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