Abbottabad demolish Lahore Whites in T20 Cup

KARACHI: Yasir Hameed and Younis Khan struck fine fifties and spinner Khalid Usman claimed five wickets to enable Abbottabad to demolish hot favourites Lahore Whites by 83 runs in their Group B game of National T20 Cup in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.
Sialkot recorded their second straight win when they defeated Hyderabad by four runs.
Karachi Whites suffered their second straight loss when they were downed by Bahawalpur by 42 runs.
The clash between Abbottabad and Lahore Whites turned out to be a one-sided affair. Yasir (67) and skipper Younis (61) played with perfection to enable Abbottabad to post a strong total of 198-3.
Left-arm spinner Khalid then grabbed 5-26 from four overs to dismiss Lahore Whites for only 115 in 16 overs.
Seeking to score quick runs, Lahore Whites kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were folded way behind the target.
Mohammad Hafeez (31), Saad Nasim (19), Ahmed Shehzad (16), Umar Akmal (10) and skipper Azhar Ali (5) fell without making any solid contribution.
Khalid was ably backed by leggie Yasir Shah (2-22) and Test seamer Junaid Khan (2-19).
Yasir set the tone of Abbottabad’s innings with fine hitting. He hit nine fours and two sixes in his 43-ball fifty. Yasir dominated the 47-run opening stand with Fakhar Zaman (10). He then shared 61 off 40 balls for the second wicket with Younis, who smashed eight fours and a six in his 39-ball fifty — second successive in the event.
Younis added 57 for the third wicket with stumper Sajjad Ali (38*), who hammered three fours and one six from 24 deliveries.
Left-arm Test pacer Mohammad Irfan (1-30), Mustafa Iqbal (1-30) and Hussain Talat (1-19) were among the wickets.
In a Group A clash, at the Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad, Bilal Asif’s all-round show enabled six-time champions Sialkot to snatch a narrow victory against Hyderabad who had beaten Multan by eight wickets on Tuesday.
After being asked to bat, Sialkot accumulated 163-7. Bilal Asif (53) and skipper Shoaib Malik (52) slammed splendid fifties. Bilal struck seven fours and a six from 38 balls. Malik smacked four fours and three sixes from 28 deliveries. Babar Khan got 2-20 and Nauman Ali claimed 2-33.
Bilal (3-11) and medium-pacer Ammad Butt (3-50) then restricted Hyderabad to 159-9.
Shoaib Leghari (29) and Azeem Ghumman (23) were the notable contributors.
In a Group A outing, at the Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad, Bahawalpur notched their first win from two games when they comprehensively beat Karachi Whites.
Moinuddin (58) and Faisal Mubashir (56) enabled Bahawalpur to pile up 174-4. Tabish Khan, Azam Hussain and Saud Shakeel got one wicket each.
Sadat Munir (3-28), Mohammad Zahir (2-31) and Kamran Hussain (2-26) then bowled Karachi Whites out for 132 in 19.4 overs. Sheharyar Ghani (32) and opener Ehsan Ali (28) offered some resistance with the willow.
In a Group B meeting at the Pindi Stadium, Peshawar began their title defence with a solid five-wicket triumph over Misbah-ul-Haq-led Faisalabad.
Faisalabad managed only 133-9 with Misbah scoring 38. Pakistan’s Test skipper struck three fours and two sixes from 33 deliveries. Asif Ali hit 22-ball 24 with three fours and a six. Opener Khurram Shehzad (22) hammered three fours and a six from just 12 deliveries.
Imran Junior (4-20), Imran Senior (2-34) and Iftikhar Ahmed (2-31) bowled superbly.
Iftikhar then hammered 51 not out off 34 balls to enable Peshawar to reach the target with seven balls to spare after losing five wickets.
The right-hander struck two sixes and four fours in his responsible knock. Opener Israrullah made a-run-a-ball 20 with three fours. Rafatullah Mohmand and Mohammad Rizwan belted 19 runs each.
Spinner Imran Khalid claimed 2-22 from four overs.
On Tuesday night, Rawalpindi whipped Bahawalpur by seven wickets in their Group A game at the Pindi Stadium.
Test pacer Mohammad Amir (3-23) bowled with good rhythm to enable Rawalpindi to restrict Bahawalpur to 125-9. Aamir Ijaz struck 29-ball 33 with two fours and a six.
Amir was smartly backed by all-rounder Hammad Azam, who got 2-22 from four overs.
Rawalpindi chased the target in 15.1 overs after losing three wickets. Left-handed Test batsman Nasir Jamshed played a key role in Rawalpindi’s victory with an unbeaten 36-ball 62 which had eight fours and one six.
He added 108 for the second wicket with Naved Malik (51), who struck four sixes and four fours from 43 balls. Kamran Hussain, Mohammad Zahir and Faisal Mubashir captured one wicket each.