Anwar, Sarfraz star in Karachi Whites win

KARACHI: A solid partnership between all-rounder Anwar Ali and skipper Sarfraz Ahmed enabled Karachi Whites to record their second win as they defeated former two-time champions Peshawar by four wickets in their day-night game of National T20 Cup at the Pindi Stadium Rawalpindi on Sunday.
Anwar (41) and Sarfraz (28) scored 61 off 33 balls for the sixth wicket to help Karachi Whites achieve the 156-run target with three balls to spare after losing six wickets.
In the last over, bowled by Sohail Khan, Karachi Whites needed five runs. Sarfraz hit the Test pacer for a four off his first ball. But Sohail removed Sarfraz off his very next delivery. Anwar took a single off the third ball to bring in a well-deserved win.
Anwar hit three fours and two sixes from just 20 balls. Sarfraz smacked two sixes and two fours in his 20-ball feat.Earlier, Akbar-ur-Rehman smashed 24-ball 29 with five fours and opener Khurram Manzoor chipped in with 15-ball 17 with three fours.
Waqas Maqsood (1-28), Kashif Bhatti (1-26), Sohail Khan (1-39) and Musadiq Ahmed (1-13) were the successful bowlers. After being invited to bat, Rafatullah Mohmand (50) and Israrullah (50) provided a breezy 101 opening stand, off only 60 balls.
But after their fall, the rest of the batsmen failed to keep the momentum and Peshawar were restricted to 155-7 in the allotted 20 overs.Rafat smashed six fours and two sixes in his 33-ball fire-work. Left-hander Israr smacked four sixes and three fours in his 31-ball fifty. Zohaib Khan belted 14-ball 21 not out towards the end.
Part-time bowler Asad Shafiq (2-7) and spinner Azam Hussain (2-29) were impressive with the leather.Anwar was adjudged man of the match for his glorious batting.The victory took Karachi Whites to fourth spot with five points. Peshawar trail at three points from five outings.
Earlier in the day, Lahore Whites recorded their third win from five outings to rise to the top with seven points as they defeated Rawalpindi by 28 runs thanks to a swashbuckling knock from Test stumper Kamran Akmal.Kamran smashed 65 off 37 balls to guide Lahore Whites to 178-7. Rawalpindi then were restricted to 150-8 in the stipulated overs.
After opting to bat, Lahore Whites lost skipper Salman Butt (8) early, but Kamran (65) hit the bowlers to all sides of the field to put pressure on the opposition. He added 80 off 48 balls for the second wicket with Test opener Sami Aslam, who struck 26-ball 27 with two fours.
Kamran hammered four sixes and seven fours in his explosive 37-ball knock. Umar Akmal (33) also shrugged off his rustiness with the bat, smashing two sixes and two fours from 24 deliveries.
Mohammad Nawaz (2-31) and Sohail Tanvir (2-30) were impressive. In response, Pindi failed to build any solid partnership and were restricted well behind the target thanks to fine bowling from Bilal Asif, Wahab Riaz and Umaid Asif, who took two wickets each.
Skipper Umar Amin once again top-scored with 35, which came off 23 balls and had six fours.Mohammad Nawaz (27) and Zain Abbas (26) also batted well.Nawaz smashed three fours and a six from 21 balls, while Zain smacked one six and three fours from only 14 balls he faced.
Kamran was declared man of the match. Rawalpindi trail at the seventh place with three points. On Monday (today), Karachi Whites face Islamabad, while Lahore Blues meet FATA.