KARACHI: Fahim Ashraf led from the front with a sterling all-round performance on Thursday to help Faisalabad Wolves down Hyderabad Hawks by three wickets in a thrilling game two of the triangular stage of the Haier President’s Silver League One-day Cup in Lahore.

The Hawks, winners against Wapda in the opening fixture at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday, posted 252 all out after they were put into by the Wolves on another chilly morning in the Punjab metropolis.

Fahim, who had bowled his seamers brilliantly to grab three wickets, took the game away from the Hawks’ grasp with a career-best 71 to ensure the Wolves remain in contention for Sunday’s final as they now face Wapda in Friday’s last triangular series game.

If Wapda beat the Wolves then all three teams will be equal on points with one win and one defeat. If it comes to that then the qualifiers for the title-deciding clash would be decided on net run-rate.

The Wolves’ decision to field first was spot on as the Hawks’ opening pair, Haris Khan and Zeeshan Gul, left very early in the piece without troubling the scorers.

Mohammad Sadam, promoted to No.3, was joined by skipper Azeem Ghumman in a rebuilding partnership of 57 in 105 balls before Azeem was run out for 23. Experienced Faisal Athar — with scores of 92, 111, 129 and 68 not out under his belt — partnered Sadam in another productive stand that yielded 54 from 65 deliveries.

Sadam was run out for an 80-ball 46 (three fours) while Faisal just failed to score 50 for the fifth successive innings when he was bowled, while trying an ambitious cut against off-spinner Jahandad Khan, for 46 (42 balls, nine fours).

The Hawks were in tatters at 145-7 but all-rounder Lal Kumar had other ideas as he got the bulk of runs with the low-order to support the left-hander.

The 25-year-old Mithi-born all-rounder was left stranded on 71 when last man Nasir Awais was bowled Fahim for a first-ball duck at the start of the final over. Lal batted splendidly to strike eight fours and three sixes, all against slow let-armer Sadaqat Ali, during his 55-ball knock.

The other meaningful partnership was provided by Lal and fellow all-rounder Mir Ali Talpur (27 off 20, three fours and one six).

Lal was in discomfort in the later part of the Hawks’ innings. Just before this happened, a swarm of bees forced all 15 men — including umpires Shozab Raza and Sajid Afridi — on the field to lay fall in the ground to avoided being bitten. But Lal was unfortunate as one of the bees bit on his arm, causing him to feel a bout of nausea.

Fahim was the pick of the bowlers with an excellent return of 3-27 in 10 overs.

The Wolves’ response to the chase was tentative as they struggled to 49-3 in the 14th over. But Fahim then arrived to join Hasan Mahmood in a game-changing partnership of 118 in 153 balls.

The Wolves captain was dominant partner as he bludgeoned eight fours and one six in his 80-ball stay while Hasan contributed a sedate 62 from 103 balls (six boundaries).

Jahandad helped his team’s cause by plundering three sixes in a quickfire 17-ball 27 before Naseer Akram (22) and Sadaqat (8) provided the finishing touches with two balls left.

Scoreboard

HYDERABAD HAWKS:

Zeeshan Gul c Ali Shan b Naseer 0 Haris Khan c Ali Shan b Fahim 0 Mohammad Sadam c and b Sadaqat 46 Azeem Ghumman run out 23 Faisal Athar b Jahandad 46 Shoaib Leghari c Ali Shan b Naseer 13 Lal Kumar not out 71 Mohammad Awais c Sadaqat b Fahim 5 Mir Ali Talpur c Hasan b Imran 27 Babar Khan run out 12 Nasir Awais b Fahim 0

EXTRAS (LB-4, W-5) 9

TOTAL (all out, 49.1 overs) 252

FALL OF WKTS: 1-0, 2-0, 3-57, 3-111, 4-119, 5-138, 7-145, 8-198, 9-241.

BOWLING: Naseer Akram 10-1-58-2; Fahim Ashraf 9.1-1-27-3; Sadaqat Ali 10-0-68-1 (1w); Jahandad Khan 10-0-40-1 (3w); Imran Ali Jr 10-0-55-1 (1w).

FAISALABAD WOLVES:

Hamza Zaheer b Nasir 23 Iftikhar Ahmed lbw b Mir Ali 4 Waqas Wasif c Nasir b Mir Ali 12 Hasan Mahmood c and b Sadam 62 Fahim Ashraf c Shoaib b Lal Kumar 71 Asif Ali c Haris b Nasir 18 Jahandad Khan c Zeeshan b Lal Kumar 27 Naseer Akram not out 22 Sadaqat Ali not out 8

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-5, NB-1) 7

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 49.4 overs) 254

FALL OF WKTS: 1-7, 2-29, 3-49, 4-167, 5-193, 6-197, 7-227.

DID NOT BAT: Ali Shan, Imran Ali Jr.

BOWLING: Babar Khan 7-0-45-0 (2w); Mir Ali Talpur 8-0-28-2 (1w); Lal Kumar 10-0-42-2 (1w); Nasir Awais 10-1-52-2; Shoaib Leghari 6.4-0-41-0 (1w); Mohammad Sadam 8-0-45-1 (1nb).

RESULT: Faisalabad Wolves won by three wickets.

UMPIRES: Sajid Afridi and Shozab Raza.

TV UMPIRE: Ahmed Shahab.

MATCH REFEREE: Mohammad Anees.

OFFICIAL SCORER: Najam-us-Saeed.

FRIDAY’S FIXTURE: Faisalabad Wolves vs Wapda.

Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2015

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