KARACHI: Mukhtar Ahmed produced a blinder of an innings to gallop Sialkot Stallions to their umpteenth knockout qualification as Karachi Dolphins were sent packing out of the AlBaraka Bank presents Haier T20 Cup at the National Stadium here on Sunday.

With only the pool winners guaranteed a place in the semi-finals, the Group ‘A’ dogfight between evenly matched outfits was turned into a virtual farce by the blazing bat of Mukhtar who hammered 100 off only 48 deliveries to seal an imposing nine-wicket triumph for the six-time former champions in the 16th over.

The 21-year-old has already impressed quite a few people who matter in Pakistan cricket and chose the last day of the Group ‘A’ matches to showcase his talent. Watched by Pakistan head coach Waqar Younis and chairman of selectors-cum-team manager Moin Khan the right-hander showed scant respect for the experienced bowling armoury at Shahid Afridi’s disposal with sensational strokes.

Afridi, ironically, was responsible for the Dolphins’ predicament when he failed to grasp to what was a difficult chance when the youngster attempted to hit Anwar Ali over the tops very early in the set piece. But there was simply no stopping him as he toyed with the bowlers, although Afridi commanded some respect with 1-22 in four overs,

The four sixes he struck were breathtaking. His belligerent innings also had 12 boundaries. Mukhtar was on 94 when the Stallions required two runs. But he sent spinner Tahir Khan soaring over the midwicket region to complete one of the most spectacular T20 centuries anywhere on the planet.

It was Mukhtar’s evening all along. The likes of Mansoor Amjad (20 off 12) and Haris Sohail (28 off 34, three fours) who played second fiddle to the opener in their unfinished partnership of 103 from 65 balls were mere spectators at times.

Mukhtar had earlier excelled with the ball as well as the Dolphins lost the initiative that Asad Shafiq (34 off 32, five boundaries) and Fawad Alam (16) had worked for with the key scalps of Sarfraz, Afridi and Tahir with his mixture of leg-breaks and googlies.

Adeel Malik’s leg-breaks accounted for Fawad and Asad after the Dolphins pair had put on 46 for the third wicket.

Abdur Rehman, captaining the Stallions, heaved a sigh of relief after taking his first wicket of this competition but his joy multiplied later in the evening while the trophy-less Dolphins rued missing another golden opportunity despite winning the toss.

The attention now switches to Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ from where the remaining two semi-finalists would emerge to join the Stallions and Multan Tigers who won Group ‘B’.

Final Group ‘A’ standings

(Tabulated under played, won, lost, tie, points, net run-rate):

Sialkot Stallions 4 4 0 0 8 +1.347

Karachi Dolphins 4 3 1 0 6 +1.206

Hyderabad Hawks 4 2 2 0 4 -0.291

Quetta Bears 4 1 3 0 2 -1.612

Larkana Bulls 4 0 4 0 0 -0.535

Scoreboard

KARACHI DOLPHINS:

Rameez Raja c Shakeel b Bilawal12

Shahzaib Hasan c Mukhtar b Bilawal11

Asad Shafiq c Bilawal b Adeel34

Fawad Alam c Shakeel b Adeel16

Sarfraz Ahmed c Shakeel b Mukhtar4

Shahid Afridi c Rehman b Mukhtar19

Anwar Ali c Ayaz b Rehman10

Tahir Khan c Shakeel b Mukhtar9

Mohammad Sami not out25

Faraz Ahmed Khan not out3

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-4, NB-2)7

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 20 overs)150

FALL OF WKTS: 1-22, 2-26, 3-72, 4-77, 5-95, 6-102, 7-114, 8-131.

DID NOT BAT: Abdul Ameer.

BOWLING: Bilawal Bhatti 4-0-31-2 (1nb, 1w); Hasan Ali 2-0-16-0 (1w); Ali Khan 1-0-13-0 (1w); Abdur Rehman 4-0-27-1; Mansoor Amjad 2-0-17-0; Adeel Malik 4-0-17-2; Mukhtar Ahmed 3-0-28-3.

SIALKOT STALLIONS:

Mukhtar Ahmed not out100

Mansoor Amjad lbw b Afridi20

Haris Sohail not out28

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-6)7

TOTAL (for one wkt, 15.4 overs)155

FALL OF WKT: 1-52.

DID NOT BAT: Shahid Yousuf, Ayaz Tasawwar, Ali Khan, Adeel Malik, Shakeel Ansar, Bilawal Bhatti, Abdur Rehman, Hasan Ali.

BOWLING: Anwar Ali 2-0-33-0 (2w); Mohammad Sami 2-0-19-0 (1w); Abdul Ameer 2-0-28-0; Shahid Afridi 4-0-22-1 (2w); Faraz Ahmed Khan 2-0-20-0; Tahir Khan 3.4-0-32-0 (1w).

RESULT: Sialkot Stallions won by nine wickets.

UMPIRES: Qaiser Waheed and Saqib Khan.

TV UMPIRE: Mohammad Asif.

MATCH REFEREE: Ishtiaq Ahmed.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mukhtar Ahmed.

MONDAY’S FIXTURES: Islamabad Leopards vs Azad Jammu Kashmir Jaguars (9:00am); Abbottabad Falcons vs Bahawalpur Stags (1:00pm); Lahore Lions vs Dera Murad Jamali Ibexes (5:00pm); Lahore Eagles vs Peshawar Panthers (9:00pm).

Published in Dawn, September 22nd , 2014