Resolute KP Fighters standout performers at Pentangular Cup

KARACHI: If anything the Pentangular One-day Cup can be described as successful after its last-minute switch from Multan to Karachi.

The most important ingredient of any successful cricket tournament is nature of the playing surfaces. Here, head curator of National Stadium, Ahsan Arain, and his assiduous groundstaff produced ideal limited-overs pitches that resulted in a number of exhilarating matches taking place as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Fighters, Balochistan Warriors, Punjab Badshahs, Federal United and Sindh Knights competed for glory during the 11-day gala.

It was appropriate that side showing great resilience and team spirit won the title. Therefore, the Fighters came out worthy winners when it mattered most, despite missing the services of Shoaib Malik. The former Pakistan skipper played a major part in helping them qualify for the final with three successive half-centuries before heading off to Australia to fulfil his Big Bash commitments with Hobart Hurricanes.

But before he left, Malik philosophically predicted that the Fighters would win the tournament, billed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as ‘Road to World Cup’.

Such was the importance of the competition that until the Pakistan squad for the mega event was picked last Wednesday, the national selection committee was present in full force to monitor those few players who were still considered uncertainties for the February-March showpiece in Australia and New Zealand.

The ‘biggest’ gain from Pentangular Cup from the selectors’ perspective was Sohail Khan, the fast bowler who many thought would never come into reckoning after being overlooked for the past several seasons.

But Sohail’s six-wicket haul for Sindh Knights against Balochistan Warriors the day before Moin Khan announced the team catapulted him into the World Cup.

Overall, the event saw many outstanding performances, notably Mohammad Rizwan’s title-sealing 103 not out for the Fighters in the final against the Warriors after captain Junaid Khan had returned career-best figures of 5-45 to become the event’s leading wicket-taker.

Rizwan is obviously one for the future. The diminutive right-hander from Peshawar, who made a career-best 224 just three weeks ago in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Gold League final won by his department SNGPL, was one of only two batsmen to strike two centuries — Federal United skipper Umar Amin being the other.

Yasir Shah, part of the World Cup squad, was always a vital cog in the Fighters’ bowling line-up. The enthusiastic leg-spinner chose Sunday’s title-decider to produce his best figures of 2-22 in 10 overs that eventually derailed Warriors’ hopes for an imposing total.

The Warriors too had their heroes. Azhar Ali not only underlined his credentials as a possible Pakistan captain in the post-World Cup era with astute leadership qualities but also emerged as the highest run-getter in the event.

The innings of the tournament came from Sohaib Maqsood who made an awe-inspiring 125 against Punjab Badshahs to not just ensure the Warriors qualify for the final but also amply justified his inclusion in the World Cup squad after lingering fitness issues.

The tournament, however, was marred by an unfortunate incident when the long-discarded Pakistan batsman Faisal Iqbal walked out on his team after being grounded for Sindh Knights’ inconsequential last match against the Badshahs.

Meanwhile, it appears the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) needs a lot to lure fans thronging the otherwise empty stands that has sadly become a sad sight for a number of seasons at major cricketing venues like the National Stadium and the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Organising tournaments at small centres have mostly resulted in overwhelming success for the PCB domestic cricket managers but it seems they will have to do something special to attract fans to the stadia in Karachi and Lahore, the country’s two major centres.

A notable entrepreneur of the city, Nadeem Omar whose love for cricket is insatiable, made a noble attempt to bring back the fans to the ground during the just-ended event by offering prizes through a draw tickets on they had purchased, but it was an exercise that was partially successful.

Leading performers

Batsmen M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50

Azhar Ali (Warriors) 5 5 0 302 117 60.40 86.28 1 2

Nasir Jamshed (Badshahs) 4 4 0 282 158 70.50 101.80 1 1

Mohammad Rizwan (Fighters) 5 5 1 278 114 69.50 96.19 2 1

Sami Aslam (Warriors) 5 5 0 277 119 55.40 92.64 1 1

Asad Shafiq (Knights) 4 4 0 272 100 68.00 91.27 1 2

Umar Amin (United) 4 4 0 255 110 63.75 102.82 2 0

Shahid Yousuf (Badshahs) 4 4 0 240 75 57.75 87.27 0 3

Awais Zia (United) 4 4 0 231 87 57.75 107.94 0 2

Ali Waqas (Badshahs) 4 4 0 219 99 54.75 79.63 0 2 Israrullah (Fighters) 5 5 0 215 72 43.00 71.90 0 2

Shoaib Malik (Fighters) 3 3 1 206 70 103.00 94.93 0 3