Farhan, Israr give Peshawar second win

KARACHI: Sahibzada Farhan and Israrullah catapulted holders Peshawar to their second win when they overwhelmed Karachi Whites by seven wickets in their third round fixture of the National One-day Cup for Regions at the National Ground, Islamabad, on Monday.

Charsadda-born talented batsman Farhan hit 85 off 88 balls to enable Peshawar to chase the 207-run target in the 35th over after losing three wickets. Left-hander Israrullah contributed a brisk 31-ball 45.

Earlier, Israrullah captured 3-40 with his left-arm spin bowling to restrict last year’s runners-up Karachi Whites to 206-8.Fawad Alam scored 90 not out. The left-handed international struck five fours from 128 deliveries. He added 49 for the fourth wicket with Test cricketer Faisal Iqbal, who fell for 38-ball 27 which had two fours and one six.

Left-arm spinner Zohaib Khan (2-37) and left-arm medium pacer Taj Wali (2-37) also bowled well.In reply, Farhan and Israrullah provided a solid 86-run opening stand to Peshawar. Farhan, who hit 13 fours in his knock, also shared 101 for the second wicket with Ashfaq Ahmed, who hit 69-ball 52 which had five fours and one six.

Israr struck five fours and two sixes.

Left-arm spinner Danish Aziz picked 2-23.

This was the first loss for Asad Shafiq-led Karachi Whites who have four points.

With the win, Peshawar moved to four points.

Faisalabad romped to their second successive triumph when they overpowered FATA by seven wickets in a high-scoring game thanks to splendid centuries from Asif Ali and Zain Abbas.

Asif (133) and Zain (104) enabled Faisalabad to achieve the 312-run target in 43.2 overs for the loss of three wickets. Asif hit 13 fours and seven sixes in his 94-ball century — first of his List A career. Kabirwala-born left-hander Zain smashed 12 fours and two sixes in his 92-ball century — sixth List A century. The duo shared 180 for the second wicket. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (35*) and Khurram Shehzad (19*) completed the victory. International all-rounder Hammad Azam got 2-45.

Earlier, Khushdil Shah (93) and Sohail Akhtar (85) shared 87 for the seventh wicket to guide FATA to 311-9 after they had opted to bat first. The left-handed Khushdil smacked six sixes and five fours. Sohail clobbered seven fours and six sixes in his rapid 55-ball innings.

Skipper Fawad Khan chipped in with 42-ball, 40 which featured five fours and two sixes. Right-arm medium pacer Mohammad Imran got 4-38. Spinner Khurram Shehzad (2-83) remained expensive.

Islamabad recorded their first win when they beat Lahore Whites by 51 runs at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad. Left-arm spinner Nouman Ali got 4-41 to enable Islamabad to dismiss Lahore Whites for 231 in 45 overs while chasing 283.

Nouman was ably supported by pacemen Shehzad Azam Rana (3-25) and Mohammad Irfan (2-35).

Skipper Usman Salahuddin top-scored for Lahore Whites, hitting 90-ball 81 with 11 fours and one six. He shared 120 for the fourth wicket with Mohammad Mohsin, who belted 49-ball 61 with six fours and two sixes.

Earlier, Faizan Riaz (95) and Test opener Shan Masood (83) put on 149 for the second wicket to take Islamabad to a fighting total of 282-8 in the allotted 50 overs. Faizan hit ten fours from 111 deliveries. Shan hammered 11 fours from 92 deliveries. Tall medium pacer Umaid Asif got 3-54, while Waqas Ahmed captured 2-52.

Rawalpindi defeated Lahore Blues by four wickets at KRL Ground, Rawalpindi, their second win from three outings. Rawalpindi rode on a solid 68 runs from Test opener Azhar Ali to achieve the 182-run target in 45.3 overs after losing six wickets.

Azhar shared 55 for the opening stand with Naved Malik, who hammered 35-ball 25 with five fours. The former Pakistan captain then put on 59 for the third wicket with Test cricketer Iftikhar Ahmed, who chipped in with patient 53-ball 33 with four fours.

Spinners Reza Ali Dar (2-36) and Salman Ali Agha (2-28) were the successful bowlers.Earlier, all-rounder Bilawal Iqbal struck 52-ball 50 with eight fours and Hafiz Saad Nasim made 80-ball 44 with two fours to enable Lahore Blues to post 181-9. Spinner Kashif Bhatti (3-34) and international left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir (3-49) bowled well.They were backed by left-arm pacer Sadaf Hussain, who returned with figures of 2-20. The fourth round will be held on Wednesday (tomorrow).