KARACHI: Upcoming fast bowler Zia-u-Haq grabbed two wickets in the last over to help Balochistan Warriors pull off a narrow eight-run victory that has all but sealed Sindh Knights’ fate in the Cool & Cool presents Haier Pentangular One-day Cup at the National Stadium here on Tuesday.

In a game that ebbed and flowed from one side to another, the Warriors upstaged the Knights when it mattered most; Zia, the former Pakistan Under-19 strike bowler, dismissed Shahzaib Ahmed Khan and Anwar Ali with the first two deliveries when 12 runs were still required by their team. In the end they managed just three runs.

The Knights’ second loss in three matches means they stand virtually no chance of progressing to Sunday’s final against the already qualified Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Fighters who will look forward to maintain their unbeaten sequence when they take on Punjab Badshahs on Wednesday.

Defending a total of 249, the Warriors responded well to the situation with skipper Azhar Ali leading them brilliantly after scoring a fine century in the first half of the afternoon. His decision to bring on Zia for the final over instead of Ehsan Adil was a masterstroke that paid off brilliantly.

Test paceman Rahat Ali also made wholesome contributions with four wickets in the Warriors’ success. But his first victim, Khalid Latif, was unfortunate to be adjudged leg-before to one that umpire Sajid Afridi failed to spot since it pitched outside the leg stump.

It was a shame that the Knights lost despite outstanding contributions from fast bowler Sohail Khan and Asad Shafiq. Sohail put up a six-star show by grabbing six wickets for 46 runs to record his second best figures in List ‘A’ fixtures.

It was then Asad’s turn to steal the limelight in the second half of game six. The diminutive Pakistan batsman anchored the chase with a sense of purpose on his way to scoring his fourth one-day (or List ‘A’) century in 82 matches. He reached the coveted mark as well as bringing up the Knights’ 200 with a push to deep mid-off.

But Asad then perished on the very next delivery he faced in the same Zia-over with Mohammad Waqas holding a well-judged catch at deep square leg as the batsman attempted to get underneath a well-directed bouncer.

Asad, whose 106-ball 100 featured 11 boundaries, was involved in a vital partnership of 107 in 133 balls with Faisal, who was promoted to No 3 in the absence of Khurram Manzoor, a shock omission from the XI.

But just like Asad before him, Faisal was guilty of getting himself out in a soft manner when he was taken at short cover after scoring 50 from 76 balls (three fours).

Azhar was equally proficient with his leg-spinners (0-43 in nine) and didn’t concede a boundary until his seventh over during which he was stuck for the only two fours off his bowling.

Earlier, the Warriors got unstuck the excellence of Sohail that matched Azhar’s methodical century after Fawad Alam had chosen to bowl first upon winning the toss. Also making a mark was leg-spinner Shahzaib Ahmed Khan with two for 34, including the prized scalp of Sohaib Maqsood.

With the national selectors searching for a third opener for the World Cup squad, Azhar’s 133-ball effort was not only timely but also beneficial from his own perspective. Not generally regarded as a specialist in the ODIs, a format he last played at the international level two years ago, the 29-year-old has now given the selectors another option.

The right-hander reached his eighth century off 122 deliveries in his 101st List ‘A’ appearance with a deft late cut off Mir Hamza for a single as the Warriors progressed to 229-7 in the 47th over.

Azhar’s cautious approach and his lack of big shots kept the Knights controlling the game. Sami Aslam contributed 48 (with the aid of five boundaries) but took 66 deliveries in doing so as he and Azhar put on 70 for the second wicket in 107 balls.

The departure of Sami heralded the arrival of Sohaib. The Pakistan batsman showed no apparent sign of any discomfort following his recovering from the wrist fracture. The tall right-hander marked his return to cricket since mid-November by outscoring Azhar in their third-wicket partnership of 50 in 47 balls.

Sohaib, who is very much a part of the World Cup plans, was set for a big knock until he toyed with a flipper that Shahzaib Ahmed Khan delivered from impressive repertoire and holed to substitute Saad Ali inside the long-on fence.

Sohaib’s 28-ball 33 was laced with three boundaries and a huge six when he charged at Fawad and sent the ball soaring high, wide and handsome over wide long on.

The left-handed Ayaz Tasawwar hit a crucial 30 while adding 75 in 80 balls with the well-set Azhar as the Warriors built a total was going to test the Knights under lights. And it did eventually.

Scoreboard

BALOCHISTAN WARRORS:

Bismillah Khan lbw b Mir Hamza 1 Azhar Ali c Junaid b Sohail 117 Sami Aslam c Fawad b Sohail 48 Sohaib Maqsood c sub (Saad Ali) b Shahzaib 33 Mohammad Waqas c Hasan b Shahzaib 6 Rameez Aziz lbw b Fawad 0 Ayaz Tasawwar b Sohail 30 Zulfiqar Babar c Fazal b Sohail 0 Ehsan Adil b Sohail 7 Zia-ul-Haq b Sohail 0 Rahat Ali not out 1

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-2, W-2) 6

TOTAL (all out, 50 overs) 249

FALL OF WKTS: 1-3, 2-73, 3-123, 4-139, 5-140, 6-215, 7-215, 8-247, 9-248.

BOWLING: Mir Hamza 10-0-51-1 (1w); Anwar Ali 10-0-53-0; Junaid Ilyas 4-0-29-0; Sohail Khan 10-0-46-6 (1w); Shahzaib Ahmed Khan 10-0-34-2; Fawad Alam 6-0-32-1.

SINDH KNIGHTS:

Fazal Subhan c Zulfiqar b Rahat 22 Khalid Latif lbw b Rahat 5 Faisal Iqbal c Rameez b Rahat 50 Asad Shafiq c Waqas b Zia 100 Fawad Alam run out 6 Anwar Ali c Sohaib b Zia 24 Sohail Khan c Bismillah b Rahat 11 Mohammad Hasan c Bismillah b Zulfiqar 8 Shahzaib Ahmed Khan c Azhar b Zia 1 Junaid Ilyas not out 2 Mir Hamza not out 1

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-6, W-4) 11 TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 241

FALL OF WKTS: 1-25, 2-39, 3-146, 4-172, 5-201, 6-228, 7-237, 8-238, 9-238.

BOWLING: Ehsan Adil 9-0-43-0 (1w); Zia-ul-Haq 10-0-31-3 (2w); Rahat Ali 10-1-50-4 (1w); Zulfiqar Babar 10-0-46-1; Azhar Ali 9-0-43-0; Rameez Aziz 2-0-21-0.

RESULT: Balochistan Warriors won by eight runs.

UMPIRES: Ghaffar Kazmi and Sajid Afridi.

TV UMPIRE: Tahir Hussain.

MATCH REFEREE: Musaddeq Rasool Khan.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Azhar Ali.

WEDNESDAY’S FIXTURE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Fighters vs Punjab Badshahs (1:00pm).

Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2015

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