ISLAMABAD: Karachi Whites and Lahore Blues stay in hunt for a place in the National T20 Championship semifinals with easy wins against their respective opponents at the Pindi Stadium Monday. Karachi bowlers did well to defend low 148 runs against Islamabad team that could muster only 129 for 5 while Lahore Blues prevailed over luckless Fata by 19 runs in the second match of the day. Asad Shafiq (45) was the standout batsman for Karachi as they struggled against some tight Islamabad bowling led by Mohammad Irfan (3-25) and Umar Gul (3-45). He smashed two sixes and five fours. Sarfraz Ahmad (28) then added some useful runs to set a compatible total for Islamabad to chase. Islamabad batsmen however disappointed the local crowd by never coming to terms against some controlled Karachi Whites bowling. Tabish Khan (1-19), Ruman Raees (1-18) and Zulfiqar Babar (1-21) bowled brilliantly to defend low total. Nouman Anwar (34) turned out to be the main scorer for Islamabad. Scores: Karachi Whites 148 in 19 overs (Asad Shafiq 45, Sarfraz Ahmed 28, Muhammad Irfan 3-25, Umar Gul 3-45). Islamabad 129-5 in 20 overs: (Nouman Anwar 34, Saad Ali 25, Shan Masood 25). Result: Karachi Region Whites won by 19 runs. In day’s second match, Sohail Akhtar’s (74 not out) gallant efforts went in vain as FATA were beaten by 19 runs by Lahore Blues. Set to chase 178 for victory, Fata struggled all the way after Blues made some early inroads into their top-order. FATA were reduced to 30 for 5. Sohail then took over, striking four boundaries and as many sixes during his 56-ball unbeaten knock. Asif Afridi (37) also played well for a brief period but the target was always a difficult ask for the Fata team against tight Lahore Blues bowling led by Aizaz Cheema (3-24). Lahore Blues and Karachi Whites now also have seven points each along with Lahore Whites. Scores: Lahore Blues 177-4 in 20 overs (Hussain Tallat 68*, Muhammad Hafeez 31, Ahmed Shahzad 29). FATA 158-7 in 20 overs: (Sohail Akhtar 74*, Asif Afridi 37, Aizaz Cheema 3-24). Result: Lahore Region Blues won by 19 runs.
