Karachi gain third victory in National T20 Cup

KARACHI: Khurram Manzoor hit his fourth successive fifty and Shoaib Malik made all-round contribution to enable Karachi Whites to pull off their third win on the trot from four matches to stabilise their position at the summit when they overpowered Lahore Whites by just six runs in their fourth round fixture of the National T20 Cup at Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

Discarded Test opener Khurram smashed 39-ball 53 to guide Karachi Whites to 145-6. Malik then picked 2-24 in his quota of four overs to restrict Lahore Whites to 139-9. After recording victories in their first two games this was the second successive loss from Lahore Whites who are badly missing their key players Kamran Akmal and Umar Akmal whose mother had expired the other day.

Chasing a tricky target on the wicket which was not conducive for batting, Lahore Whites lost their opener Umar Siddiq (8) cheaply. However, skipper Salman Butt (23) and Zeeshan Ashraf (23) added 50 off 41 balls for the second wicket stand to revive the innings. When the partnership was broken Lahore Whites kept losing wickets at regular intervals without establishing any other good partnership and were restricted just away of the target after losing nine wickets. In the last over from young pacer Arshad Iqbal, Lahore Whites required 13 runs but could only score six to lose the game closely.

Discarded Test cricketer Wahab Riaz was the top performer as he hit three fours and one six in his 25-ball 32 not out but the brave effort went in vain. Ali Khan chipped in with a rapid 14-ball 23 that featured one six and one four. Former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik played a key role in the victory. Malik got rid of both openers Umar Siddiq and Salman Butt before he ran out No3 batsman Zeeshan Ashraf to put Lahore Whites in a difficult position.

Skipper Mohammad Sami (1-15 in four overs) was the most economical of the five bowlers Karachi Whites. In the last two overs Lahore Whites needed 17 runs and Sami conceded just four in the penultimate over to leave Arshad Iqbal to defend 13 in the final over. After deciding to bat first Khurram (53) and Awais Zia (30) batted superbly, sharing a quick-fire 81 in just 62 balls for the opening partnership to pave way for posting an imposing total. Test-spinner Bilal Asif, finally, gave a breakthrough to Lahore Whites when he got rid of Awais after the discarded Pakistan's T20 left-hander had hit three fours and one six from 27 deliveries. In the next over young medium-pacer Amad Butt removed Khurram to reduce Karachi Whites to 89-2 in the 12th over. Khurram, who completed his fifty off just 34 balls, smacked eight fours from 39 deliveries.

After the fall of both the openers Karachi Whites failed to keep the same scoring rate and were restricted to 145. Shoaib Malik struck 21-ball 24 with two fours and Fawad Alam smacked one four in his 23-ball 24 to make a good effort. Amad Butt, who also got rid of Malik and Rameez Raja Junior (0) off his two successive balls, finished off with 3-19 in four overs. Tall medium pacer Umaid Asif claimed 2-23 in four overs. Khurram was adjudged as Man-of-the-Match.

Meanwhile in the other fixture Lahore Blues romped to their second win when they overwhelmed Multan by seven wickets thanks to a splendid fifty from Rizwan Hussain. Rizwan hit a solid 58 off 41 balls, having hit eight fours and one six to enable Lahore Blues to chase the 130-run target with three balls to spare. Lahore Blues needed four off the last over from Mohammad Imran. Three runs came off the first two balls before Agha Salman (26*) hit a splendid four towards extra-cover to bring in a well-deserved victory. Saad Nasim remained not out on run-a-ball 12.

Hussain Talat scored 23-ball 22 with one four and added 47 for the second wicket with Rizwan. Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Irfan Khan and Aamer Yamin got one wicket each. After deciding to bat Multan's batting revolved around Hasan Raza Junior as he hit a solid 54-ball 46 with four fours to take his side to 129-7. Most of Multan's batsmen, also including skipper Sohaib Maqsood (6) played irresponsible shots. Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez hit 20-ball 19 with two fours. In the end Mohammad Imran struck unbeaten 14 off nine balls, striking two fours. Spinner Saad Nasim got 2-20 in four overs. Rizwan was declared Man-of-the-Match.