Lahore Blues crush Karachi in One-day Cup

ISLAMABAD: Lahore Region Blues inflicted crushing 77-run defeat on Karachi Whites to set the table open following match in the National one-day cricket at the KRL Ground Friday.

Thanks to gritty knocks from Muhammad Saad (72) and Umar Akmal (64), Lahore Blues hit up 288 for 8 n 50 overs. Lahore Blues bowlers then joined the party to bowl out Karachi Whites for 211. Qaiser Ashraf (4-34), Bilawal Iqbal (3-33) and Khalid Usman (3-62) ran through Karachi innings. Only Akbarur Rehman (97) and Danish Aziz (38) played with some authority as leading names Asad Shafiq (18), Fawad Alam (15), Faisal Iqbal (4) failed to contribute.

Earlier, Saad and Umar contributed well to the Lahore cause. Saad more relied on taking singles and doubles struck only four boundaries in his 106-ball innings. Umar smashed ten boundaries and one six in his hurricane 45-ball knock. Danish Aziz (3-54) and left arm pacer Zia-ul-Haq (2-66) bowled well for Karachi.

Karachi Whites thus suffered their second defeat in five matches they played while Lahore Blues also have three wins from five outings.

Scores: Lahore Region Blues 288-8 in 50 overs (Muhammad Saad 72, Umar Akmal 64, Sami Aslam 38, Salman Ali Agha Danish Aziz 3-54, Zia-ul-Haq 2-66).

Karachi Region Whites 211-10 in 43.3 overs: (Akbar-ur-Rehman 97, Danish Aziz 38, Qaiser Ashraf 4-34, Bilawal Iqbal 3-33, Khalid Usman 3-62)

Scores of other matches: At Diamond Ground Islamabad: Fata Region 224 in 44.1 overs (Khushdil Shah 54, Fakhar Zaman 46, Muhammad Naeem 45, Raza Hasan 4-27, Nouman Ali 2-44).

Islamabad Region 228-1 in 35.5 overs: (Abid Ali 96*, Shan Masood 90, Faizan Riaz 35* Muhammad Irfan 1-51). Result: Islamabad Region won by 9 wicketsAt Arbab Niaz Satdium Peshawar: Rawalpindi Region 302-7 in 50 overs (Azhar Ali 104, Umar Amin 81, Iftikhar Ahmed 38, Taj Wali 4-43).

Peshawar Region 305-2 in 47.3 overs (Israrullah 150, Asad Shafiq 102*, Sahibzada Farhan 40, Attaullah 1-62 ).Result Peshawar won by eight wickets.

At Pindi Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi: Lahore Region Whites 249 in 48 overs (Umar Siddique 77, Ahmed Shehzad 59, Adnan Akmal 40, Mohammad Imran 2-24, Asad Raza 2-37, Waqas Maqsood 2-40, Fahim Ashraf 2-48).

Faisalabad Region 246-9 in 50 overs (Raees Ahmed 75, Faheem Ashraf 36, Ali Shafiq 3-50, Waqas Ahmed 2-50, Umaid Asif 2-57).Result: Lahore won by three runs.