KARACHI, April 6: Test fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar returned to active cricket on Wednesday with four cheap wickets a KRL notched up an easy 83-run victory over Sui Gas in the Patron’s Cup Pool ‘B’ match at the Qadhafi Stadium in Lahore.

Shoaib, who has not played since the tour of Australia in January, bowled seven overs to take four for 22 as Sui Gas were all out for 175 after being set 259 for victory.

Earlier, KRL rattled up 258 for nine with skipper Ali Naqvi making 54 off 63 balls and Saeed bin Nasir 46 off 61 balls.

Scoreboard

KRL:

Saeed Anwar Jr lbw b Imran                                     38
Mohammad Saleem c Ayub b Imran                          38
Saeed bin Nasir c Saleem b Zohaib                            46
Ali Naqvi c Zohaib b Irshad                                       54
Shoaib Akhtar c Sohail b Zohaib                                  8
Shahbaz Butt c Sohail b Saleem                                   6
Intikhab Alam c Shakeel b Zohaib                                0
Ashraf Ali lbw b Saleem                                             19
Azhar Ali not out                                                        13
Faisal Afridi c Sufyan b Zohaib                                     1
Jaffar Nazir not out                                                     12

EXTRAS (LB-8, W-7, NB-8)                                   23
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs)                             258
FALL OF WKTS: 1-85, 2-93, 3-185, 4-204, 5-206, 6-206, 7-216, 8-237, 9-240.
DID NOT BAT: (Saeed Ajmal).
BOWLING: Mohammad Irshad 8-1-51-1 (5nb, 4w); Tauqir Hussain 7-0-30-0 (1nb, 2w); Umar Javed 10-0-40-0 (1nb, 1w); Imran Khalid 10-1-51-2; Zohaib Khan 10-0-49-4 (1nb0; Saleem Mughal 5-0-29-2.

SUI GAS:

Yasir Arafat Jr c sub b Shoaib                                    37
Hafiz Majid b Shoaib                                                   9
Sohail Idrees lbw b Faisal                                           13
Sufyan Munir c Intikhab b Faisal                                   6
Saleem Mughal lbw b Saeed Ajmal                             17
Ayub Dogar b Shoaib                                                   0
Umar Javed lbw b Saeed Ajmal                                    4
Tauqir Hussain c Shahbaz b Shoaib                               2
Shakeel Ansar c and b Azhar                                      26
Imran Khalid b Faisal                                                  37
Mohammad Irshad not out                                            5

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-5, W-11, NB-3)                         19
TOTAL (all out, 42.3 overs)                                     175
FALL OF WKTS: 1-21, 2-42, 3-48, 4-92, 5-95, 6-96, 7-98, 8-108, 9-160.
DID NOT BAT: (Zohaib Khan).
BOWLING: Shoaib Akhtar 7-1-22-4 (1nb, 1w); Jaffar Nazir 7-1-35-0 (2nb, 8w); Faisal Afridi 7.3-0-39-3 (1w); Saeed Ajmal 10-1-29-2 (1w); Ali Naqvi 3-0-12-0; Azhar Ali 8-0-33-1.

UMPIRES: M. Nazir and Iqbal Butt.
MATCH REFEREE: Abdul Sami Khan.

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