KARACHI: Opener Imran Butt struck a workmanlike century to help Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) clinch a four-wicket victory over Peshawar Panthers in the Haier President’s Gold League One-day Cup at the National Stadium here on Friday.

Imran made 104 off 121 deliveries (61 of them being dot ones) before SNGPL recorded their straight triumph on what could have been the last ball of a pulsating third-round Group-I clash.

But spinner Jibran Khan delivered a wide down the leg-side to Hussain Talat when the scores were levelled.

Imran, who hit 10 boundaries and one six, was involved in successive 100-plus partnerships. With skipper Azhar Ali (49 off 63 balls, six fours and one six) he put on 131 for the second wicket before Ali Waqas (50 off 56, six boundaries) helped add 104 in 98 deliveries.

Mohammad Rizwan provided the finishing touches with a 25-ball 46 featuring six boundaries and one six.

Earlier, left-handed opener Israrullah was the Panthers’ top-scorer in their tally of 285-5 after SNGPL opted to field first at the toss. Israrullah banged 113 (128 balls, nine fours and one six) and put on 115 for the third wicket with Mehran Ibrahim (60 off 69, two boundaries).

NBP completed a resounding 234-run thrashing of Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the NBP Sports Complex.

Upcoming left-handed opener Sami Aslam scored his third List ‘A’ century as the 19-year-old former Pakistan U-19 skipper slammed 120 from 128 balls as National Bank posted 343-7 after ZTBL skipper Abdul Razzaq blundered in inserting the opposition into bat on a pitch was expected to turn later.

Sami adorned his excellent innings with 12 fours and a brace of sixes as he and captain Kamran Akmal (94 off 72, eight fours and two sixes) were involved in a second-wicket partnership of 169 after Nasir Jamshed had blasted six fours in making 40 from 53 balls.

Slow left-armers Mohammad Asghar and Fawad Alam then took seven wickets between them as ZTBL crashed to a feeble 109 all out in the 27th over as Sharjeel Khan (14), Yasir Hameed (4), Shoaib Malik (19), Sohail Tanvir (10) and Razzaq (1) all fell on the wayside.

Asghar grabbed career-best 4-2 in 7.5 overs in only third List ‘A’ appearance, while Fawad took 3-18 in seven fours.

Rameez Raja, the Karachi Dolphins skipper, hammered a swashbuckling 124 in a clinical 117-run win against Rawalpindi Rams at the UBL Sports Complex.

Batting first after losing Rams, the Dolphins posted 327 all out in 49.3 overs with Rameez striking 19 fours and two sixes during his 106-ball knock. Tailender Mir Hamza made full use of his promotion to No.9 by bludgeoning a 27-ball 49 with three sixes and two fours.

Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) trounced Lahore Lions by 158 runs to seal their third success on the trot in the Group-II tie at the RLCA Ground in Gulberg.

KRL reached 323-7 in 50 overs before the Lions were sent packing for 165 with the damage being done by left-arm pacemen Rahat Ali (4-30 in eight overs) and Sadaf Hussain (5-29 in 8.3 overs).

Port Qasim Authority (PQA), inspired by Test opener Khurram Manzoor’s 123 (126 balls, 11 fours and four sixes), scored a narrow 16-run win over State Bank at the Southend Club Ground.

Karachi Zebras pulled off a sensational one-run victory over Islamabad Leopards at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.

After collecting 271-7, the Zebras curtailed their opponents to 270-8 in response.

Meanwhile, the second-tier Silver League competition starts from Saturday with four matches taking place of teams involved in Group-II and Group-III.

Sialkot Stallions host Wapda at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot and Abbottabad Falcons take on Habib Bank at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in the two Group-II fixtures.

In Group-III, Multan Tigers face Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC at Lahore’s LCCA Ground while Pakistan Television (PTV) are the visitors of Faisalabad Wolves at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Results:

Group-I:

At National Stadium, Karachi: SNGPL bt Peshawar Panthers by four wickets.

PESHAWAR PANTHERS 285-5 in 50 overs (Israrullah 113, Mehran Ibrahim 60, Akbar Badshah 41; Atif Jabbar 3-55); SNGPL 286-6 in 49.5 overs (Imran Butt 104, Ali Waqas 50, Azhar Ali 49, Mohammad Rizwan 46 not out; Jibran Khan 2-55).

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: NBP bt ZTBL by 234 runs.

NBP 343-7 in 50 overs (Sami Aslam 120, Kamran Akmal 94, Nasir Jamshed 40; Ammar Mahmood 3-59, Karamat Ali 3-92); ZTBL 109 in 26.5 overs (Mohammad Asghar 4-22, Fawad Alam 3-18, Ataullah 2-43).

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: Karachi Dolphins bt Rawalpindi Rams by 117 runs.

KARACHI DOLPHINS 327 in 49.3 overs (Rameez Raja 124, Mir Hamza 49, Babar Hussain Agha 33, Fazal Subhan 31; Hamza Sultan 3-56, Faisal Iqbal 2-58, Babar Naeem 2-81); RAWALPINDI RAMS 210 in 44.4 overs (Naved Malik 76, Usman Saeed 40; Mir Hamza 3-38, Adeel Malik 3-45, Shahzaib Ahmed Khan 2-30, Faraz Ahmed Khan 2-42).

Group-II:

At RLCA Ground (Gulberg), Karachi: KRL bt Lahore Lions by 158 runs.

KRL 323-7 in 50 overs (Shoaib Ahmed Minhas 78, Ali Khan 52, Mohammad Yasin 48, Zain Abbas 45; Saad Nasim 2-50, Mohammad Saeed 2-52); LAHORE LIONS 165 in 41.5 overs (Agha Salman 60, Saad Nasim 37, Farhan Khan 31; Sadaf Hussain 5-29, Rahat Ali 4-30).

At Southend Club Ground, Karachi: PQA bt SBP by 16 runs.

PQA 295-9 in 50 overs (Khurram Manzoor 123, Khalid Latif 56, Umar Amin 37, Mohammad Sami 34; Mohammad Naved 2-49, Aamir Yamin 2-52); SBP 279-9 in 50 overs (Babar Azam 104, Usman Salahuddin 49, Kashif Bhatti 32 not out; Kamran Younis 3-37, Mohammad Sami 2-53, Mohammad Talha 2-62).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: Karachi Zebras bt Islamabad Leopards by one run.

KARACHI ZEBRAS 271-7 in 50 overs (Saud Shakeel 79, Owais Ahmed Rehmani 40, Behram Khan 33; Faizan Riaz 2-40, Hamza Nadeem 2-58); ISLAMABAD LEOPARDS 270-8 in 50 overs (Imad Wasim 89, Hamza Nadeem 38, Naeem Anjum 33, Mohammad Irfan 32; Ali Mudassar 3-48, Sohaib Khan 2-45).

Sunday’s fixtures: NBP vs SNGPL at NBP Sports Complex, Karachi; Karachi Dolphins vs Peshawar Panthers at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; Rawalpindi Rams vs ZTBL at National Stadium, Karachi; KRL vs SBP at RLCA Ground (Gulberg), Karachi; Karachi Zebras vs Lahore Lions at Southend Club Ground, Karachi; Islamabad Leopards vs PQA at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad.

Published in Dawn January 24th , 2015

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