March 17, 2002	Sunday	Muharram 2, 1423

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KARACHI, March 16: An unbeaten 101 by diminutive right-hander Mohammad Masroor guided Karachi Whites to an emphatic eight-wicket win against Bahawalpur in the National One-day Cricket Championship Pool ‘A’ tie at National Stadium here Saturday.

Masroor came to the crease in the fourth over and struck six fours and one six in his 125-ball innings as Karachi Whites reached 179 for two in 44.4 overs.

Masroor dominated the unbroken third-wicket partnership of 167 with opener Maisam Hasnain, who finished on 59 off 133 deliveries with the aid of seven boundaries.

In fact, the Whites received an early jolt in the second over of the innings when Mir Rashid, a surprise selection, was caught at the wicket for a first-ball duck.

Zeeshan Pervez then fell after making only nine to leave his side in tatters at 12 for two. However, Masroor nullified Bahawalpur’s intentions of scoring an upset win by playing some wonderful strokes, particularly his trademark pulls and cuts.

Earlier, the visitors were dismissed for 178 after being asked to bat first by Whites skipper Arif Mahmood.

Arif, the slow left-armer, was the pick of the bowlers by returning excellent figures of four for 27 in 9.5 overs. Masroor, chipping with two for 14 with his part-time off-spin.