KARACHI: For stargazers, there was a rare lunar spectacle happening on Friday night with the Harvest Moon taking centre-stage.
But the eyes of Pakistan cricket fans were transfixed on a ground in Multan where an enthralling all-Karachi final rivalled the show in the skies.
In a match that went down to the wire, Karachi Blues survived a roller-coaster ride to beat Karachi Whites by three runs to win the National Twenty20 Cup at a packed Multan Cricket Stadium. It was the first time that a team from the country’s largest city has won the title.
The match could have gone either way.
Thanks to a blitz from Sohail Khan (24 not out from 11 balls), the Whites were within striking distance of winning the coveted crown. They needed 11 in the final over bowled by Mohammad Nawaz and when wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Hasan hit a boundary off the first ball, it seemed that the Whites would edge the Blues in spectacular fashion. But Nawaz took two wickets in the next five balls to make sure that the Blues will be the ones taking the trophy to Karachi.
The batting heroes of the final were the experienced duo of Khurram Manzoor (70) and Fawad Alam (67 not out) as the two put on a third wicket stand of 112 to take the Blues to 182 on what was a good batting track.
The bowling heroes were the spin trio of Nawaz (4-26), Saeed Ajmal (2-27) and Mohammad Asghar (2-30). Ajmal finished as the highest wicket-taker of the tournament with 20 wickets.
In their run-chase, the Whites were given a solid start by openers Zain Abbas (47 off 39 balls) and Asif Zakir (32 off 26 balls) as the two put on 61 off 44 balls before the latter was bowled by Nawaz. Returning in his next over, the left-arm spinner took the prized scalp of Asad Shafiq (6 off 8 balls). Ajmal then took two wickets off eight balls to put the Whites on the back foot. The veteran off-spinner, still fancying a national call-up, first dismissed Whites’ skipper Akbar-ur-Rehman whose attempt for a flick resulted in a leading edge to mid-wicket where Fawad Alam grabbed it on the second attempt. In his second over got the wicket of Danish Aziz.
Veteran all-rounder Tariq Haroon lifted Whites’ hopes with an entertaining 38 off 17 balls as together with Sohail he took the team agonizingly close to victory.
Earlier, the Blues seemed to be in trouble after losing their explosive opening pairing of Shahzeb Hasan and Khalid Latif cheaply. Shahzeb and Khalid, who were instrumental in the Blues’ emphatic nine-wicket win the semifinals against a star-studded Lahore Whites outfit failed to give their side a big start. Shahzeb was the first to go, falling to pacer Tabish Khan for a 12-ball 11 that included two four. Unable to really go after the new-ball pair of Sohail Khan and Tabish, Khalid lost his wicket in a bid to hit young left-arm pacer Mir Hamza out of the park. Khalid scored 9 off 12 balls and his dismissal left the Blues gasping for air with 28-2 in the 6th over. They needed a rescue act and it came from the duo of Khurram and Fawad. Together, the two began cautiously on a pitch that offered varied bounce but after settling in went after the bowlers with full force. They put on 112 for the third wicket off just 11.2 overs.
Khurram, who has had a quiet tournament, was at his brilliant best as he hit three sixes and five fours in his 42-ball 70. He fell to Azam Hussain trying to go for a big one but Mohammad Sami, who was promoted for his big-hitting prowess made sure that Whites won’t suffer much as he hit a much-needed cameo of 20* off 10 balls. Fawad, who rotated the strike and also found the boundaries at will, especially in the later stages of his innings, was unbeaten on a splendid 67 from 44 balls. He hit five fours and two sixes.
Score Board
Karachi Blues won toss
Karachi Blues
Shahzaib Hasan c Akbar b Tabish 11
*Khalid Latif c Danish b Hamza 9
Khurram Manzoor c Tariq b Azam 70
Fawad Alam not out 67
M Sami not out 20
Extras (b 1, lb 4) 5
Total (3 wickets; 20 overs) 182
Did not bat: Bilawal Bhatti, †Saifullah Bangash, M Asghar, Rumman Raees, Saeed Ajmal, M Nawaz (3)
Fall: 1-14, 2-28, 3-140
Bowling: Tabish 4-0-33-1; Sohail 4-0-31-0; Hamza 4-0-30-1; Akbar 3-0-23-0; Azam 3-0-36-1; Tariq 2-0-24-0
Karachi Whites
Zain Abbas st Saifullah b Asghar 47
Asif Zakir b Nawaz 32
Asad Shafiq st Saifullah b Nawaz 6
*Akbar-ur-Rehman c Fawad b Saeed 1
Danish Aziz c Saifullah b Saeed 10
Tariq Haroon c Nawaz b Asghar 38
Sohail Khan not out 24
†M Hasan b Nawaz 10
Azam Hussain lbw b Nawaz 2
Mir Hamza not out 1
Extras (lb 3, w 4, nb 1) 8
Total (8 wickets; 20 overs) 179
Did not bat: Tabish Khan
Fall: 1-61, 2-77, 3-80, 4-94, 5-128, 6-155, 7-176, 8-178
Bowling: Sami 4-0-38-0; Rumman 4-0-41-0 (1nb, 1w); Bilawal 1-0-14-0; Nawaz (3) 4-0-26-4 (1w); Asghar 4-0-30-2 (2w); Saeed 3-0-27-2
Result: Karachi Blues won by 3 runs
Man of the Match: M Nawaz (3)
Umpires: Ahsan Raza and Shozab Raza. TV umpire: Khalid Mahmood. Match referee: M Javed (2)