Karachi Blues top Group B with 3-run win

KARACHI: Opener Shahzaib Hasan and paceman Rumman Raees enabled Karachi Blues to emerge as Group B champions when they defeated Bahawalpur by three runs in a cliff-hanger of the National T20 Cup qualifiers in Rawalpindi on Friday.
Shahzaib smashed an explosive 36-ball 63 to guide Karachi Blues to 168-3. Left-arm pacer Rumman (2-20) picked two vital wickets in an over, which helped Blues restrict Bahawalpur to 165-5.
After being invited to bat, Karachi Blues lost Khurram Manzoor (7) and Khalid Latif (10) in the initial five overs with 44 on the board.
However, Shahzaib, who struck his second fifty in the event, added 65 off 47 balls for the third wicket with Fawad Alam (55*), who struck four fours and a six.
Shahzaib, who was dislodged by Moinuddin, banged six fours and three massive sixes.
Fawad and Asad Shafiq (25*) added 59 off 42 deliveries for the fourth wicket unbroken association to set a fighting target for Bahawalpur.
Medium-pacer Mohammad Zahir got 2-31 from four overs. Moinuddin claimed 1-26.
Mohammad Yasir (81) led Bahawalpur’s reply with lusty hitting. The bulky opener smashed 11 fours and a huge six during his 53-ball magical knock.
He added 87 for the second wicket with Shahan Akram who fell for 25-ball 21.
At one stage Bahawalpur were in sight of a victory with Yasir and Faisal Mubashir (7) at the crease. But Karachi Blues’ skipper Sarafraz Ahmed brought in Rumman to bowl the 17th over. And the 23-year-old removed both the batsmen in the over to bring his team back in the game.
Bahawalpur required 25 runs from the last two overs. Rumman conceded seven runs to leave 18 runs for Anwar Ali to defend in the final over.
Anwar conceded 14 runs in that over but bowled a couple of good balls to prevent Bahawalpur from reaching the target.
Skipper Kamran Hussain scored 12-ball 20 with two fours. Left-arm pacer Abdul Ameer captured 3-42 in four overs.
Karachi rested Mohammad Sami and left-arm spinner Faraz Ahmed, bringing in Abdul Ameer and left-arm spinner Fawad Khan.
Karachi will now face either Quetta or Larkana in the semi-final on Saturday (today).
In an inconsequential Group B game, FATA recorded a consolation victory when they defeated Dera Murad Jamali by six wickets.
Asad Afridi (49) and Khushdil Shah (36) added 77 runs for the third wicket to enable FATA to achieve 112-run target with 15 balls to spare after losing four wickets.
Asad’s 35-ball cameo featured four sixes and two fours. Khushdil smacked two fours and a six from 37 deliveries.
Paceman Mohammad Asim claimed 2-16 from three overs.
Earlier, Sohrab Khan (2-24) and Mohammad Sarwar (2-16) had enabled FATA to dismiss DM Jamali for only 111.
Abid Ali (25) and Nasir Khan (23) were the prominent contributors for DM Jamali.
In a vital Group A outing on Thursday night, Quetta defeated Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) by four wickets to keep themselves alive in the competitions.
Quetta chased 145-run target in 15 overs after losing six wickets. Mohibullah smashed 30-ball 54 with four sixes and four fours. Irfan Talib (2-27) and Saad Altaf (2-28) bowled well.
Earlier, Mohammad Ali, Sher Hassan and Mohammad Irfan had grabbed two wickets each to restrict AJK to 144-6.
Irfan Talib (33), Abdul Shakoor (27*), Naved Malik (20) and Raja Naeem (19) batted well.
The semi-finals will be held on Saturday (today) and the winners will make it to the main round to be held from September 8-15.