Rizwan, Shoaib give KP Fighters second win

KARACHI: Stumper Mohammad Rizwan’s second hundred of his career and Test seamer Junaid Khan’s tidy bowling guided Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Fighters to their second successive victory as they routed Federal United by 73 runs in their match of the Pentangular Cup here at the National Stadium on Thursday.
Rizwan slammed 114, while Shoaib Malik (68) and Israrullah (72) struck fifties to catapult KP Fighters to 323-6 in the allotted 50 overs.
Shoaib (2-31) and Junaid (3-41) then bowled well to dismiss Federal United for 250 in 47 overs.
Federal United had a poor start and at one stage were reeling at 60-5 in 14.4 overs, but Ali Sarfraz (60) and Zohaib Ahmed (36) added 84 runs for the sixth wicket to bring some respectability to the innings.
Zohaib, who was run out by Yasir Shah, struck three fours from 52 balls. Sarfraz then added 43 with Sohail Tanvir (43) before the former was caught by keeper Rizwan off Taj Wali after he had hit six fours from 89 deliveries.
Sohail and Sarmad Bhatti (32) then compiled 51 for the eighth wicket before both fell in quick succession. Sohail hit four fours and a six from 29 balls, while Sarmad cracked five fours in his explosive 20-ball knock.
Junaid then removed Ahmed Jamal (3), caught by Yasir Shah, to fold Federal United’s innings.
Test pacer Mohammad Sami (2-47 in 9 overs) and left-arm pacer Taj Wali (2-37 in 6) also bowled well. Test leg-spinner Yasir Shah remained wicket-less and conceded 63 runs in his ten overs.
After electing to bat, KP Fighters lost opener Mukhtar Ahmed (10) early. It was a good length delivery from Test pacer Umar Gul which the right-hander played across the line, missed it and got hit on his back foot. The umpire had no hesitation in giving him out.
Rizwan joined Israrullah (72) and the duo added 140 runs off 161 deliveries to pave the way for a huge total.
Left-handed Israr, who survived a caught and bowled chance off spinner Awais Zia when on 55, smashed eight fours in his solid 89-ball knock before edging a delivery from off-spinner Babar Azam to stumper Kamran Akmal.
Shoaib (68) accelerated Fighters’ innings, hitting a few amazing shots. The former Pakistan captain, who hit his second successive fifty, added 124 runs off 83 deliveries for the third wicket with Rizwan before the latter was clean bowled by Sohail with a splendid yorker.
Rizwan, who hit Zohaib Ahmed towards backward point for a couple to reach his career’s second hundred from 115 balls, banged ten fours in his remarkable 120-ball knock.
At that stage, Fighters were 277-3 in 44.4 overs. In the same over, Sohail got rid of Shoaib, caught at deep mid-on by Zohaib. The 32-year-old hammered ten fours and a six in his rapid 47-ball knock.
In the next over, Zohaib removed Adil Amin (1) cheaply. Adnan Raees (21*) and Mohammad Sami (21) then added 39 of 23 balls to give Fighters a mammoth total to defend.
Gul (2-64 in 10 overs) and Sohail (2-72 in 10 overs) remained expensive. Babar took 1-23 in two overs and Zohaib 1-57 in 10 overs.
Rizwan was adjudged man-of-the-match.
KP Fighters made two changes to their squad that beat Sindh Knights by six runs in their opener on Wednesday. They brought in Test discard Mohammad Sami in place of Test pacer Imran Khan, who flew to Peshawar during the match on Wednesday because of his father’s death.
Opener Mukhtar Ahmed came in place of Iftikhar Ahmed. On Friday (today), Sindh Knights will meet Federal United. The match will start at 2pm.