March 01, 2007	Thursday	Safar 11, 1428

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KARACHI, Feb 28: Karachi Zebras registered their first win in the ABN-Amro One-day Gold League Cup when they defeated Rawalpindi Rams by four wickets in a high-scoring tie at the Asghar Ali Stadium here on Wednesday.

The Zebras, who were surprisingly beaten by Karachi Harbour in the first round on Monday, achieved victory by scoring 255 for six with one over to spare. Skipper Hasan Raza led the way with a 49-ball 51, which included five boundaries, while opener Khurram Manzoor (47 off 45 balls, seven fours) and Asif Zakir (55 off 92 balls, four fours) also played significant knocks.

Earlier, the Rams made a fine recovery fro 146 for six to reach 251 in 49.5 overs thanks to Yasir Arafat’s swashbuckling innings of 84 in 73 deliveries. The all-rounder, who struck four sixes and as many fours, added 64 for the ninth-wicket with Yasim Murtaza (18).

Slow left-armer Azam Hussain picked up four for 40 in his quota of 10 overs.

Scoreboard

RAWALPINDI RAMS:

Babar Naeem c Tahir b Tanvir 15

Mohammad Wasim c Hasan b Azam 22

Najam-ul-Hasan b Afsar 34

Awais Zia st Amin b Afsar 1

Naveed Qureshi c Khurram b Azam 44

Yasir Arafat c Khurram b Azam 84

Sohail Tanvir st Amin b Tahir 1

Ali Sarfraz c Saeed b Hasan 14

Yasim Murtaza c Tanvir b Tahir 18

Akhtar Ayub c Khurram b Azam 0

Rizwan Akbar not out 3

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-2, W-8, NB-2) 16

TOTAL (all out, 49.5 overs) 252

FALL OF WKTS: 1-15, 2-64, 3-71, 4-106, 5-142, 6-146, 7-180, 8-244, 9-244.

BOWLING: Khurram Manzoor 2-0-20-0

(1nb); Tanvir Ahmed 6-0-24-1 (1nb, 2w); Saeed bin Nasir 3-0-21-0; Azam Hussain 10-1-40-4 (1w); Afsar Nawaz 9-0-35-2; Asif Zakir 4-0-25-0 (4w); Tahir Khan 9.5-0-44-2; Hasan Raza 6-0-37-1 (1w).

KARACHI ZEBRAS:

Agha Sabir c Ali Sarfraz b Akhtar 14

Khurram Manzoor c sub b Rizwan 47

Asif Zakir c Ali Sarfraz b Sohail 55

Saeed bin Nasir b Rizwan 8

Faisal Iqbal c Awais b Yasim 27

Hasan Raza c Yasir b Babar 51

Afsar Nawaz not out 29

Amin-ur-Rehman not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-8, NB-14) 24

TOTAL (for six wkts, 49 overs) 255

FALL OF WKTS: 1-62, 2-98, 3-110, 4-173, 5-186, 6-251.

DID NOT BAT: Tahir Khan, Tanvir Ahmed, Azam Hussain.

BOWLING: Yasir Arafat 6-0-44-0 (1nb, 1w); Akhtar Ayub 6-0-48-1 (8nb, 2w); Rizwan Akbar 10-0-47-2; Sohail Tanvir 10-0-33-1 (4nb); Yasim Murtaza 10-0-48-1; Babar Naeem 5-0-23-1 (1w); Naveed Qureshi 2-0-10-0.

RESULT: Karachi Zebras won by four wickets.

UMPIRES: Zameer Haider and Ahsan Raza.

MATCH REFEREE: Naeem Ahmed.

OFFICIAL SCORER: Salman Hussain.