Zia, Israrullah excel as KP beat Sindh by 5 wickets

KARACHI: Young left-arm medium pacer Zia-ul-Haq bowled tightly and Israrullah hit a solid 74 to enable Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to keep their hopes alive when they defeated Sindh by five wickets in their last day-night league outing of Pakistan Cup National One-day Cricket Championship at Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad on Wednesday.

Vehari-born Zia-ul-Haq captutred 4-24 in 9.2 overs to help KP to fold Sindh for only 196 in 46.2 overs. Left-hander Israrullah then smacked three sixes and nine fours in his 61-ball knock as KP chased the target in only 23 overs after losing five wickets in the process.

Chasing a modest total KP had a breezy start when test diacard Shan Masood went after the bowling, scoring 31 off only 17 balls before being removed by left-arm international pacer Mohammad Irfan in the fifth over of the innings. Shan smacked six fours in his entertaining knock. KP then faced another blow in the shape of the wicket of their skipper Mohammad Hafeez (4) who fell prey to Aamer Yamin.

However opener Israrullah then added 58 for the third wicket with Mohammad Saad (18). Israr then shared another 42 for the fourth wicket association with Umar Akmal (27) who hit two sixes and three fours in his 14-ball firework. After losing both Israr and Umar in quick succession Hammad Azam used long handle, smashing 13-ball 38 not out to make his side comfortably home. Hammad clobbered three sixes and four fours in his enthralling knock. Aamer Yamin was the pick of the bowlers with 2-52 in five overs. Mohammad Irfan (1-42 in 5), spinner Bilal Asif (1-34 in 4) and Fawad Alam (1-10 in 1) were the others among the wickets. After being invited to bat first by Mohammad Hafeez who won a vital toss Sindh’s batting line-up failed to live up to the expectations. No resolve was seen from any batsman of Sindh as stay at the wicket could help them in making a reasonably good total on the pitch which had nothing unusual for the bowlers.

After facing initial hiccups when the game began following an early morning rain, Fawad Alam (52) and Salman Butt (41) did try to consolidate the innings, sharing 58 in the fourth wicket stand before international allrounder Hammad Azam got rid of the later to dent Sindh’s chance of a recovery.

The former Pakistan captain Salman hammered four fours in his patient 63-ball knock. And Sindh at that stage were 114-4 in the 29th over. In the next over on the same score the new comer Khurram Shehzad (0) got run out as a result of a big mix-up to leave Sindh in deep trouble.

Left-hander Danish Aziz (23) then joined Fawad and both added valuable 52 runs for the sixth wicket. It was Zia-ul-Haq who got the prized scalp of Fawad, held by Hafeez, after the Pakistan’s discard middle order batsman had smashed three fours in his sedate 80-ball fifty. Zia then sent Danish back to put KP right on top. Danish hammered one four and one six from 37 balls.

Bilal Asif (11) got himself run out before medium pacer Mohammad Irfan Junior removed Junaid Khan (1). Zia then dislodged Aamer Yamin (17) to fold Sindh innings. Yamin smashed one six and one four from 21deliveries. Earlier Mohammad Irfan Junior gave an early breakthrough to KP when he got rid of Gauhar Ali after the wicket-keeper batsman had smacked four fours in his 19-ball 23.

Hafeez, whose bowling action was on Tuesday cleared by the International Cricket Council (ICC), added to the misery of Sindh when he bowled their skipper Umar Amin who hit one four in his nine-ball six. Zia then had test cricketer Iftikhar Ahmed (8) to leave Sindh gasping at 56-3. Zia was ably backed by medium pacer Mohammad Irfan Junior with 2-41 in nine overs. Hafeez (1-33 in 6) and Hammad (1-11) were the other successful bowlers. Zia-ul-Haq was declared man of the match. KP, who ended their journey with four points, will now have to wait for the outcome of the last two league games which will decide their fate. Asif Yaqoob and Shozab Raza supervised the match. Khalid Mehmood remained television umpire, Imtiaz Iqbal, the reserve umpire and Iftikhar Ahmed, as match referee. On Thursday (today) Federal Areas face Balochistan in another crucial fixture for the five-team event.