KARACHI: Inspired by an unbroken century stand, Hyderabad Hawks drew the first blood in the Haier President’s Silver League One-day Cup when they surprised Wapda by seven wickets in the opening fixture of the Triangular Stage in Lahore on Wednesday.

Chasing 213, the Hawks got home with 14 balls to spare in a truncated game that was reduced to 43 overs per side because of wet conditions at the Gaddafi Stadium. The architects of the creditable triumph were the seasoned Faisal Athar, who continued his magnificent form by contributing 68, and Shoaib Leghari as the pair added 110 to seal the game.

The Hawks held the upper hand once their skipper Azeem Ghumman won an important toss and promptly inserted Wapda into bat.

With heavy moisture underneath the surface, Wapda found the going hazardous and soon found themselves in trouble at 32-3. Babar Khan bowled a fine spell with the new ball to send back Iftikhar Ahmed (5) and his fellow opener Mohammad Fayyaz (10).

Mir Ali Talpur then claimed the important scalp of the experienced left-hander Adnan Raees for a single.

Veteran Riffatullah Mohmand and Aamir Sajjad put on 44 for the fourth wicket when Mir Ali returned to get rid of Riffatullah for 26 (56 balls, three boundaries).

Aamir fell to medium-pacer Lal Kumar for a 50-ball 39 that included five fours as Wapda stuttered to 101-5. Former Pakistan all-rounder and Wapda captain Rana Naved-ul-Hasan rolled back the years by making 31 off 47 deliveries with one six and a four before he was trapped leg-before-wicket by off-spinner Nasir Awais, after having shared an invaluable sixth-wicket stand of exactly 50 with Ayaz Tasawwar.

The left-handed Ayaz, one of the unsung heroes in domestic cricket, batted attractively to score a 49-ball 40 that featured four hits to the fence until he was caught by Azeem to provide Babar with his third wicket.

Zulfiqar Babar, the Pakistan spinner who is not a renowned hitter of the ball, ensured Wapda cross the 200-run mark with a 14-ball cameo of 26 during which he a brace of fours and one six.

Babar finished with impressive figures of three for 40 in nine overs; Mir Ali was extremely tidy in taking two for 30 in his nine overs while Nasir gave away 45 runs in nine overs for his two wickets.

After losing Haris Khan early, Zeeshan Gul and Azeem carried the total to 50 when Zeeshan’s breezy 49-ball knock of 37 (five boundaries) was cut short by a run out.

Azeem and Faisal lifted the Hawks to 104 when the captain was dismissed by slow left-armer Khalid Usman for a steady 32 from 62 balls.

The icing on the cake was then provided by Faisal, who adorned his 78-ball effort with eight fours and one six and the aggressive Shoaib, who blasted three sixes and as many boundaries in making 55 from just 39 deliveries.

Zulfiqar, on whom Wapda’s main hopes rested, went wicketless as he conceded 37 runs in eight overs.

The Hawks now only need to beat Faisalabad Wolves on Thursday to qualify for Sunday’s final.

Scoreboard

WAPDA:

Mohammad Fayyaz lbw b Babar 10

Iftikhar Ahmed b Babar 5

Riffatullah Mohmand c Zeeshan b Mir Ali 26

Adnan Raees c Saddam b Mir Ali 1

Aamir Sajjad lbw b Lal Kumar 39

Rana Naved-ul-Hasan lbw b Nasir 31

Ayaz Tasawwar c Azeem b Babar 40

Khalid Usman c and b Nasir 19

Zulfiqar Babar not out 26

Waqas Maqsood not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-11, NB-2) 15

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 43 overs) 212

FALL OF WKTS: 1-11, 2-29, 3-32, 4-76, 5-101, 6-151, 7-179, 8-199.

DID NOT BAT: Mohammad Ali Bhutta.

BOWLING: Mir Ali Talpur 9-1-30-2 (3w); Babar Khan 9-0-40-3 (2nb, 2w); Nasir Awais 9-0-45-2; Lal Kumar 8-0-43-1 (3w); Shoaib Leghari 6-0-37-0 (2w); Haris Khan 1-0-6-0; Mohammad Saddam 1-0-9-0 (1w).

HYDERABAD HAWKS:

Haris Khan c Riffatullah b Ali 2

Zeeshan Gul run out 37

Azeem Ghumman c Ali b Khalid 32

Faisal Athar not out 68

Shoaib Leghari not out 55

EXTRAS (B-8, LB-5, W-6, NB-1) 20

TOTAL (for three wkts, 40.4 overs) 214

FALL OF WKTS: 1-12, 2-50, 3-104.

DID NOT BAT: Lal Kumar, Mir Ali Talpur, Mohammad Saddam, Mohammad Awais, Nasir Awais, Babar Khan.

BOWLING: Mohammad Ali Bhutta 9-1-25-1; Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 9-1-49-0 (6w); Zulfiqar Babar 8-0-37-0; Waqas Maqsood 7.4-0-51-0 (1nb); Khalid Usman 7-0-39-1.

RESULT: Hyderabad Hawks won by seven wickets.

UMPIRES: Asif Yaqoob and Zameer Haider.

TV UMPIRE: Ahsan Raza.

MATCH REFEREE: Ishtiaq Ahmed.

THURSDAY’S FIXTURE: Hyderabad Hawks vs Faisalabad Wolves.

Published in Dawn February 5th , 2015

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