July 23, 2007	Monday	Rajab 07, 1428

LAHORE, July 22: Batsmen continued to struggle as Shoaib Malik XI defeated Salman Butt XI by 32 runs in another low-scoring Twenty20 match at the national training camp at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.

Upcoming all-rounder Fawad Alam had an excellent game. He claimed three for 13 with his slow left-armers to restrict Shoaib Malik XI to 139-8 in 20 overs.

Paceman Umar Gul conceded 22 runs for one wicket. But except for opener Mohammad Hafeez, who struck a belligerent 49 off 31 deliveries with one six and five fours, no other batsman crossed the 20-run mark. On Saturday, Hafeez hit a 33-ball 56.

Salman Butt XI failed to chase the moderate target and were dismissed for 107 in 19.3 overs.

Fawad, however, excelled with a 35-ball cameo of 45, which included four boundaries. But apart from the young left-hander, only Yasir Hameed (21) made any impression.

Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar was as much as impressive as his figures of 3-2-3-3 spoke for itself. Though Shahid Afridi could not dominate with the bat, his bowling figures (4-1-13-3) played a vital role in deciding the outcome.

The fourth and final match of the Lahore camp will be played on Monday. The next phase of the camp will be held in Karachi from July 27 to Aug 6. In Karachi, 12 Twenty20 matches will be played.

Summarised scores:

SHOAIB MALIK XI 139-8 in 20 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 49, Imran Nazir 19, Shoaib Malik 17, Abdul Razzaq 12; Fawad Alam 3-13, Najaf Shah 2-33); SALMAN BUTT XI 107 in 19.3 overs (Fawad Alam 45, Yasir Hameed 21, Umar Gul 11; Shoaib Akhtar 3-3, Shahid Afridi 3-13, Faisal Iqbal 2-2).