March 23, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 14, 1429

KARACHI, March 22: Talented wicket-keeper/batsman Sarfraz Ahmed smashed 101 as PIA notched up their second straight victory in the ABN-Amro National One-day Cricket Championship with a 70-run rout of ZTBL at the National Stadium here on Saturday.

Sarfraz hit six boundaries in his 106-ball knock, while skipper Faisal Iqbal struck eight fours and one six in a 71-ball 72 as PIA amassed 290 in their 50 overs.

ZTBL, in reply, were dismissed for 220 with young paceman Ali Imran Pasha taking three for 16.

In other Group ‘A’ matches, Yasir Ali’s five for 16 guided Rawalpindi Rams to their second win, by seven wickets over Abbottabad Rhinos in Hyderabad, while SSGC ran out easy winners by 28 runs against Karachi Dolphins at the NBP Sports Complex.

Akbar Rehman, however, was the standout performer for the losers with two for 44 in 10 overs and an unbeaten 106 off only 87 balls with 10 fours and one six.

Summarised scores:

At National Stadium, Karachi: PIA beat ZTBL by 70 runs.

PIA 290 in 50 overs (Sarfraz Ahmed 101, Faisal Iqbal 72; Mohammad Khalil 3-70, Rao Iftikhar 2-12, Junaid Nadir 2-56); ZTBL 220 in 47.3 overs (Wajahatullah Wasti 61, Adnan Raza 45; Ali Imran Pasha 3-16, Kamran Sajid 2-46).At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: SSGC beat Karachi Dolphins by 28 runs.

SSGC 321 in 49.2 overs (Asif Zakir 87, Ashraf Ali 81, Mohammad Zafar 47, Saeed bin Nasir 44, Haris Ayaz 39; Azam Hussain 4-38, Akbar Rehman 2-44, Rizwan Saeed 2-67); KARACHI DOLPHINS 293-7 in 50 overs (Akbar Rehman 106 not out, Behram Khan 47, Ali Asad 34; Adnan Malik 2-54).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: Rawalpindi Rams beat Abbottabad Rhinos by seven wickets.

ABBOTTABAD RHINOS 147 in 49 overs (Yasir Ali 5-16); RAWALPINDI RAMS 151-3 in 27.1 overs (Naveed Qureshi 62 not out, Umar Amin 38; Junaid Khan 2-39).

Our Sports Reporter adds from Lahore: Pakistan Customs added more misery to Karachi Zebras in the Group C fixture at Gaddafi Stadium.

The Zebras, who had lost to Lahore Eagles by five wickets on Thursday, went down by the same margin despite scoring 290-plus for the second game in a row with Mohammad Nabi blasting seven fours and five sixes in an unbeaten 112 off only 103 deliveries for the victors.

In the same pool, Pakistan opener Nasir Jamshed hit 100 (106 balls, five fours and two sixes) as National Bank defeated Faisalabad Wolves by 75 runs in Faisalabad.In Group ‘B’, Sialkot Stallions, led by an undefeated 101 from opener Naeemuddin crushed Hyderabad Hawks by nine wickets in Sialkot. Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan star, top-scored with 83 to lead Wapda to a close eight-run victory over SNGPL in Sheikhupura.

Summarised scores:

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: Pakistan Customs beat Karachi Zebras by five wickets.

KARACHI ZEBRAS 298-8 in 50 overs (Daniyal Ahsan 84, Afsar Nawaz 77, Tanvir Ahmed 43 not out; Raees Amjad 5-45); PAKISTAN CUSTOMS 299-5 in 46 overs (Mohammad Nabi 112 not out, Rehan Rafiq 47, Imran Qadir 45, Mohammad Hasan 36 not out).

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: National Bank beat Faisalabad Wolves by 75 runs.

NATIONAL BANK 309-7 in 50 overs (Nasir Jamshed 100, Fawad Alam 55, Salman Butt 48, Mansoor Amjad 45 not out; Saadat Munir 3-63);

FAISALABAD WOLVES 234 in 46 overs (Usman Arshad 51, Ijaz Ahmed 51, Mohammad Ramzan 46, Abdul Mannan 35; Mansoor Amjad 3-26, Qaiser Abbas 2-33).

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: Sialkot Stallions beat Hyderabad Hawks by nine wickets.

HYDERABAD HAWKS 205 in 44.2 overs (Aqeel Anjum 63, Rizwan Ahmed 43, Hanif Malik 34; Mohammad Ali Bhutta 3-37, Ayaz Tasawwar 3-39, Bilawal Bhatti 2-51); SIALKOT STALLIONS 210-1 in 37.4 overs (Naeemuddin 101 not out, Haris Sohail 75 not out).

At Sheikhupura Stadium: Wapda beat SNGPL by eight runs.

WAPDA 240 in 48.5 overs (Mohammad Yousuf 83, Tariq Aziz 64, Bilal Khilji 33; Samiullah Niazi 4-23, Asad Ali 4-40); SNGPL 232 in 48.5 overs (Saleem Mughal 78, Yasir Arafat Jr 48, Umar Akmal 31; Aqeel Ahmed 3-36, Aamir Sajjad 2-23, Sarfraz Ahmed 2-29).

Sports Reporter adds from Islamabad: Saeed Anwar Jr blasted 113 off 118 balls as KRL pulled off a shock five-wicket win against Habib Bank at the KRL Stadium in Group ‘A’.

In other matches, Islamabad Leopards registered their second win in as many games when they beat Lahore Lions by 79 runs at the Diamond Club Ground, while Peshawar Panthers overwhelmed Quetta Bears by six wickets in Peshawar.

Summarised scores:

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Islamabad Leopards beat Lahore Lions by 79 runs.

ISLAMABAD LEOPARDS 218-9 in 50 overs (Rauf Akbar 46, Umair Khan 41, Naeem Anjum 32, Kamran Hussain 30; Mohammad Saeed 3-36, Usman Malik 2-29);

LAHORE LIONS 139 in 36.3 overs (Ali Raza 30; Saad Altaf 4-40, Ashar Zaidi 2-14, Kamran Hussain 2-18).

AT KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: KRL beat Habib Bank by five wickets.

HABIB BANK 285-7 in 50 overs (Khaqan Arsal 66, Younis Khan 62, Abdul Rehman 50, Aftab Khan 47, Salman Qadir 38 not out; Akhtar Ayub 3-46); KRL 286-5 in 48.4 overs (Saeed Anwar Jr 113, Azhar Ali 49, Mohammad Wasim 31, Bazid Khan 30 not out; Aslam Qureshi 2-32, Umar Gul 2-51).

At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar: Peshawar Panthers beat Quetta Bears by six wickets.

QUETTA BEARS 195 in 46.3 overs (Sabir Hussain 46, Shoaib Khan 37; Jibran Khan 2-33, Mohammad Fayyaz 2-40); PESHAWAR PANTHERS 199-4 in 34.2 overs (Nawaz Ahmed 64 not out, Mahfooz Sabri 44; Sher Hasan 2-42).