KARACHI: Unheralded Hyderabad Hawks clinched a shock four-wicket victory over United Bank in the opening round of Group-I fixtures in the Haier President’s Silver League One-day Cup on Wednesday.

The Hawks chased a stiff target with three balls to spare after United Bank had posted 292-7 in their 50 overs at the Municipal Sports Complex in Mirpurkhas.

Veteran Faisal Athar, a former Pakistan international, was the star of the show with a robust 92. His 83-ball knock contained 10 boundaries and a brace of sixes. Skipper Azeem Ghumman hit 69 off 88 deliveries with six boundaries after openers Haris Khan (run-a-ball 52, five fours and three sixes) and Zeeshan Gul (24) put on 85 for the first wicket.

Azeem and Faisal shared a game-changing partnership of 153 after the openers had perished.

Earlier, Bismillah Khan blasted a career-best 145 with his unbeaten 133-ball innings featuring 17 boundaries after skipper Ali Asad opted to bat first at the toss. Bismillah and Ali (49 off 58 balls, five fours) were involved in a second-wicket stand worth 84 runs.

Centuries from captain Kamran Sajid (an undefeated 134 off 145 balls, 10 fours and one six) and experienced Faisal Iqbal (119 off 102, six fours and fives) inspired PIA to a 37-run defeat of Quetta Bears after their scheduled match was switched from RLCA Ground in Gulberg to the Aga Khan Gymkhana Ground.

As usual, the domestic cricket managers of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) didn’t bother to notify the media covering the ongoing tournament about the last-minute change in venue.

However, whatever the reasons behind this move at the eleventh hour, it didn’t mattered much to PIA who made good use of winning the toss on the slow track to pile up 306-3 with Kamran and Faisal adding 214 for the third wicket in only 118 minutes.

The Bears, in reply, batted spiritedly to reach 269 all out in 48.4 overs with Mirwais Tareen (56 off 49, four fours and two sixes), Rameez Raja (56 off 55, five boundaries) and Zubair Khan (55 off 10, 10 fours) all impressing.

Wapda considerably brightened their prospects of qualifying for the triangular stage from Group-II by virtue of chalking up their third successive win when they breezed past Bahawalpur Stags by seven wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Paceman Waqas Maqsood (3-27) and slow left-armer Khalid Usman (3-29) shared six wickets between them to send the Stags hurtling to 121 all out in 43.3 overs after Wapda captain Rana Naved-ul-Hasan decided to field first at the toss.

Wapda then romped home in only 18.2 overs without much difficulty to consolidate their position atop the pool standings.

Abbottabad Falcons sealed a 26-run win against Sialkot Stallions in the other Group-II tie at the Jinnah Stadium in Gujranwala after a 103-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Khalilullah (57 off 76, two fours) and Nasir Khan (57 off 78, four fours) lifted them to 241-9.

SSGC thrived on hundreds from captain Awais Zia (112 off 88 balls, 17 boundaries) and Muzammil Nizam (an unconquered 114 off 146, nine fours and one six) to crush Lahore Eagles by 102 runs in the Group-III clash at the LCCA Ground in Lahore.

Awais and Muzammil shared a third-wicket partnership of 163 to help SGGC collect 310-7 after the Eagles skipper Fahad-ul-Haq elected to bowl first. But his side capitulated for 208 despite Mohammad Waheed hitting an unbeaten 75 (84 balls, eight boundaries).

A blazing opening stand of 193 between Raheel Majeed (102 off 125, nine fours and four sixes) and Mohammad Naeem (115 not out from 136 deliveries, 13 boundaries) enabled Pakistan Television (PTV) eased to a seven-wicket success against Multan Tigers at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Results:

Group-I:

At Aga Khan Gymkhana Ground, Karachi: PIA beat Quetta Bears by 37 runs.

PIA 306-3 in 50 overs (Kamran Sajid 134 not out, Faisal Iqbal 119, Shahzar Mohammad 33); QUETTA BEARS 269 in 48.4 overs (Mirwais Tareen 56, Rameez Raja 56, Zubair Khan 55, Shahzad Tareen 26; Mohammad Ibrahim 3-56, Aizaz Cheema 2-26, Kamran Sajid 2-39).

At Municipal Sports Complex, Mirpurkhas: Hyderabad Hawks beat United Bank by four wickets.

UNITED BANK 292-7 in 50 overs (Bismillah Khan 145, Ali Asad 49; Lal Kumar 3-55, Shoaib Leghari 2-57); HYDERABAD HAWKS 295-6 in 49.3 overs (Faisal Athar 92, Azeem Ghumman 69, Haris Khan 52, Zeeshan Gul 24, Shoaib Leghari 22; Hasan Mahmood 2-57, Junaid Ilyas 2-59).

Group-II:

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: Wapda beat Bahawalpur Stags by seven wickets.

BAHAWALPUR STAGS 121 in 43.3 overs (Moinuddin 54; Waqas Maqsood 3-27, Khalid Usman 3-29); WAPDA 122-3 in 18.5 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 38, Mohammad Fayyaz 36, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 28 not out; Ali Ahmed 2-41).

At Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala: Abbottabad Falcons beat Sialkot Stallions by 26 runs.

ABBOTTABAD FALCONS 241-9 in 50 overs (Khalilullah 57, Nasir Khan 57, Sajjad Ali 36, Mohammad Ali 27, Waqar Orakzai 21; Hasan Ali 4-48, Waqas Ahmed 3-49); SIALKOT STALLIONS 215 in 47.2 overs (Faisal Khan 56, Nauman Anwar 34, Ahmed Butt 33, Mohammad Yasin 31; Haris Khan 3-47, Shakeel Ahmed 2-22, Inam Khan 2-38).

Group-III:

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: SSGC beat Lahore Eagles by 102 runs.

SSGC 310-7 in 50 overs (Muzammil Nizam 114, Awais Zia 112, Tariq Haroon 37, Mohammad Irfan 20; Asif Raza 3-55); LAHORE EAGLES 208 in 45 overs (Mohammad Waheed 75, Asif Raza 25, Tayyab Tahir 24, Gohar Hafeez 24; Adnan Ghaus 3-23, Nasir Malik 2-37, Fahim Ahmed 2-37).

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: Pakistan Television beat Multan Tigers by seven wickets.

MULTAN TIGERS 268 in 49.4 overs (Ammar Ali 88, Abdur Rehman Muzammil 53, Shahzad Ali 40, Sikander Khan 33; Mohammad Abbas 3-40, Samiullah 3-46); PAKISTAN TELEVISION 269-3 in 50 overs (Mohammad Naeem 115 not out, Raheel Majeed 102, Nawaz Ahmed 24 not out; Asif Fawad 2-34).

Friday’s fixtures: United Bank vs Quetta Bears at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi; Hyderabad Hawks vs PIA at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad; Abbottabad Falcons vs Bahawalpur Stags at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; Sialkot Stallions vs Habib Bank at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot; Lahore Eagles vs Pakistan Television at LCCA Ground, Lahore; Faisalabad Wolves vs Multan Tigers at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

Published in Dawn January 29th, 2015

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