Faisal leads Hawks into next round; Wolves, Wapda also qualify

Khalid H. Khan Published February 2, 2015

HYDERABAD: Quetta Bears’ spinner Jalaat Khan bowls to Hyderabad Hawks’ Faisal Athar during the Group-I match in the President’s Silver League One-day Cup at the Niaz Stadium on Sunday.—INP

KARACHI: Another match-winning century from Faisal Athar enabled Hyderabad Hawks sail into the triangular stage of the Haier President’s Silver League One-day Cup with a four-wicket defeat of Quetta Bears in the last Group-I fixture at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad on Sunday.

The 39-year-old former Pakistan player, who made 92 and 111 in the previous two games, stroked 129 from 116 balls with 13 boundaries and one six as the Hawks chased down a 310-run target with three balls to spare. It was a remarkable comeback after the home side had slumped to 26-3.

But Faisal then joined opener Zeeshan Gul (96 off 113 balls, seven fours) in a partnership of 170 before Shoaib Leghari (63 not out from 44 balls, eight fours and one six) partnered Faisal in a 101-run stand to seal the game.

The Hawks’ third victory ended PIA’s slim hopes despite the latter defeating United Bank by six wickets in the other Group-I fixture at the UBL Sports Complex.

Wapda qualified from Group-II when they overpowered Habib Bank by six wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to score their fourth straight triumph in the pool.

Opener Iftikhar Ahmed led the way by making an unbeaten 118 (135 balls, 10 fours and four sixes) as Wapda reached 270-4 in 48.5 overs after Test batsman Asad Shafiq’s 81 not out (84 balls, eight boundaries) had lifted he bankers to 268 all out.

Faisalabad Wolves are the third side to make to the three-team stage after they tamed Lahore Eagles by 60 runs at the LCCA Ground in Lahore to top Group-III with three wins in four matches.

The triangular stage begins from Wednesday at the Gaddafi Stadium with the Hawks facing Wapda in the opening fixture. On Thursday, the Hawks take on the Wolves while Wapda meet the Wolves on Friday. The top two sides from that round will contest the final, also in Lahore, next Sunday (Feb 8).

Results:

Group-I:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: PIA beat United Bank by six wickets.

UNITED BANK 180 in 41.4 overs (Saeed bin Nasir 71, Rumman Raees Khan 21; Rafaiy Safdar 5-38, Najaf Shah 2-37); PIA 184-4 in 29.2 overs (Shaharyar Ghani 63. Fahad Iqbal 51 not out, Kamran Sajid 43).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: Hyderabad Hawks beat Quetta Bears by four wickets.

QUETTA BEARS 30-9-9 in 50 overs (Zubair Khan 54, Rameez Raja 53, Mirwais Tareen 51, Mohibullah 33, Shahzad Taren 27, Umar Qasim 21; Nasir Awais 4-57, Mohammad Saddam 2-50); HYDERABAD HAWKS 313-4 in 49.3 overs (Faisal Athar 129, Zeeshan Gul 96, Shoaib Leghari 63 not out; Gohar Faiz 2-62).

Group-II:

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: Wapda beat Habib Bank by six wickets.

HABIB BANK 268 in 48.5 overs (Asad Shafiq 81 not out, Imran Farhat 70, Rameez Aziz 42, Aftab khan 28; Zulfiqar Babar 6-57, Khalid Usman 2-44); WAPDA 270-4 in 48.5 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 118 not out, Riffatullah Mohmand 55, Mohammad Fayyaz 49, Adnan Raees 25; Abdur Rehman 2-41).

At Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala: Bahawalpur Stags beat Sialkot Stallions by one wicket.

SIALKOT STALLIONS 217 in 49.3 overs (Faisal Khan 71, Bilal Asif 34, Faisal Rasheed 25, Israr Ali 21, Bilal Hussain 20; Afraseem Hussain 3-45, Ansar Javed 2-28, Ali Ahmed 2-31); BAHAWALPUR STAGS 218-9 in 45.5 overs (Imranullah Aslam 60 not out, Bilal Khilji 35, Faisal Mubashir 31, Taimur Khan 29, Mazhar Bashir 21; Bilal Asif 4-40).

Group-III:

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: Faisalabad Wolves beat

Lahore Eagles by 60 runs.

FAISALABAD WOLVES 256 in 49.4 overs (Ali Shan 45, Jahandad Khan 40, Naseer Akram 31, Iftikhar Ahmed 30, Sadaqat Ali 26, Fahim Ashraf 23, Waqas Wasif 20; Ahmed Bashir 3-36, Adnan Danish 2-45, Mohammad Waheed 2-57); LAHORE EAGLES 196 in 45 overs (Mohammad Waheed 57, Tayyab Tahir 45, Jahanzeb Abdullah 25; Jahandad Khan 5-46).

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: Pakistan Television beat SSGC by five wickets.

SSGC 216 in 44.4 overs (Awais Zia 115; Mohammad Sami 5-35); PAKISTAN TELEVISION 217-5 in 42 overs (Hasan Raza Jr 78, Nawaz Ahmed 69, Zeeshan Mushtaq 41; Tabish Khan 2-31).

Final standings

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

Group-I

Hyderabad Hawks 3 3 0 6 +0.127

PIA 3 2 1 4 +1.069

United Bank 3 1 2 2 -0.409

Quetta Bears 3 0 3 0 -0.715

Group-II

Wapda 4 4 0 8 +2.010

Habib Bank 4 2 2 4 +2.235

Abbottabad Falcons 4 2 2 4 -0.491

Bahawalpur Stags 4 2 2 4 -1.455