RAWALPINDI: Karachi Blues and Bahawalpur booked their semi-final berths from Group ‘B’ in the qualifying round of the Cool & Cool presents Haier T20 Cup after sealing contrasting victories at the Pindi Cricket Stadium here on Thursday.

The star-studded Karachi Blues amply made up for their tense win against Fata on Tuesday night when the Sarfraz Ahmed-led team outgunned Dera Murad Jamali by a clinical margin of 53 runs in the opening fixture on day three.

For the second game running, Bahawalpur held their nerves before defeating their opponents and once again it was the heroics of rising star Faisal Mubashir that inspired them to victory.

Following their nail-biting success by three runs against Dera Murad Jamali on Wednesday, Kamran Hussain’s men were made to struggle to overcome the plucky Fata side by just 10 runs.

Thursday’s results meant that both Fata and Dera Murad Jamali will now merely play for pride when they face each other soon after the Karachi Blues-Bahawalpur clash on Friday which will decide the pool winners.

Dera Murad Jamali skipper Taimur Ali decided chasing would be the best option to get the better of Karachi Blues when he won the toss in pleasant playing conditions after the overnight rains had substantially brought the temperature down in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

At the start of the match Taimur’s decision seemed justified as Faizullah bowled a maiden over to Khurram Manzoor, the discarded Test opener who then perished without scoring to the first ball he faced from the other paceman Mohammad Asim Luni.

But the loss of Khurram didn’t matter much as Shahzaib Hasan and Khalid Latif came together to put on 76 in 53 balls before Karachi Blues lost their second wicket.

Shahzaib mainly dealt in sixes, striking three of them and a four in making 32 from 23 balls when slow left-armer Nasir Khan bowled him playing across the line.

Khalid, yet another player who is out of the selectors’ radar at present, completed his eightth half-century in 78 T20 games, scoring an entertaining 51 off 46 balls with six boundaries.

Asad Shafiq, not renowned for big hitting, played some delightful strokes to hit five fours in a 25-ball 35 while helping man-of-the-match Khalid put on 32 for the third wicket.

After Khalid was trapped lbw while trying to seep left-arm spinner Ghulam Mohammad, Anwar Ali was promoted to accelerate the scoring rate further.

The Pakistan all-rounder, who was dismissed first ball against Fata, bludgeoned two sixes and as many fours to blast 26 from only 10 balls before holing out in the deep.

Sarfraz in a brief six-ball stay struck three fours to finish with 16 not out.

Dera Murad Jamali needed a decent start to stand a chance but once openers Faisal Ahmed (0) and Shabbir Ali (7) were gone, the game was all but over. And although Taimur (21), Nasir (32 off 24 balls, two fours and one six) and Najeebullah (35 off 25, three fours and one six) made useful contributions, it was never enough.

The only notable partnership came when Nasir and Najeebullah added 44 in 26 balls for fifth wicket.

Meanwhile, Bahawalpur reached 156-8 only because of another outstanding knock from Faisal Mubashir who followed up his unbeaten 66 against Dera Murad Jamal with an unconquered 79 from 52 deliveries (nine fours and one six).

Fata’s chase depended on the shoulders of Rehan Afridi (36 off 37 balls, four boundaries) but his tragic run out left them with no chance with the seventh wicket going down at 141 in the 18th over. Rahimbaz Khan (33 off 26, five fours) and Asad Afridi (21 off 12, three fours) lent good support to Rehan but lack of decent partnerships ultimately cost Fata dearly.

Faisal completed a grand all-round performance with his leg-spin bowling fetching him three crucial wickets after Zahir Siddiqui (3-21 in four overs) had made early inroads with the new ball.

At the time of filing this report, newcomers Azad Jammu Kashmir were eyeing a previously unthinkable last-four spot from Group ‘A’ if they manage to beat the winless Quetta in the last game on Thursday night and join Lahore Blues in the semis.

Late on Wednesday night, Azad Jammu Kashmir celebrated a famous maiden victory when they shot Larkana out for a paltry 65.

Emotional scenes followed on the field as players threw themselves around in wild celebrations moments after recording a 58-run win. They were joined in the melee by their jubilant mates from the dugout.

Put into bat by Larkana skipper Zahid Mahmood proved a blessing in disguise for the newcomers. Left-handed Hasan Raja Jr produced an intelligent innings of 50 (46 balls, five fours) to help his side reach a respectable score.

At the interval, it seemed Larkana will encounter little problem in their chase. But the script told a different story as Larkana suffered an inexplicable batting mishap with Usman Maroof claiming three wickets for nine runs in 1.4 overs and Irfan Talib 2-8 in three overs.

Thursday’s qualifying-round results:

Group ‘B’:

Karachi Blues bt Dera Murad Jamali by 53 runs.

KARACHI BLUES 172-5 in 20 overs (Khalid Latif 51, Asad Shafiq 35, Shahzaib Hasan 32, Anwar Ali 26; Imran Khan 2-30); DERA MURAD JAMALI 119-9 in 20 overs (Najeebullah 35, Nasir Khan 32, Taimur Ali 21; Shahzaib Ahmed Khan 2-19, Faraz Ahmed Khan 2-26).

Bahawalpur bt Fata by 10 runs.

BAHAWALPUR 156-8 in 20 overs (Faisal Mubashir 79 not out, Shahan Akram 21, Kamran Hussain 21; Mohammad Sarwar 2-23, Khushdil Shah 2-31); FATA 146 in 19.1 overs (Rehan Afridi 36, Rahimbaz Khan 33, Asad Afridi 21; Zahir Siddiqui 3-21, Faisal Mubashir 3-27).

Wednesday’s remaining result:

Group ‘A’:

Azad Jammu Kashmir bt Larkana by 58 runs.

AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 123-8 in 20 overs (Hasan Raja Jr 50, Naveed Malik 21, Iqbal Akram 21; Afraz Khoso 4-24, Imran Chandio 2-26); LARKANA 65 in 13.4 overs (Usman Maroof 3-9, Irfan Talib 2-8, Naqqash Basharat 2-22).

Friday’s fixtures:

Karachi Blues vs Bahawalpur (12:00noon); Fata vs Dera Murad Jamali (4:00pm); Lahore Blues vs Larkana (8:00pm).

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2015

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