RAWALPINDI: Khurram Man­zoor’s second half-century in less than 24 hours propelled Karachi Blues into the semi-finals of the Cool & Cool presents Haier Mobile T20 Cup with a clinical seven-wicket victory against arch-rivals Lahore Whites here on Saturday.

Sarfraz Ahmed’s men became the first team to confirm their knockout round berth after coasting to their fourth consecutive success in Group ‘B’ while also knocking Lahore Whites out of the tournament.

Azhar Ali’s side were embarrassed yet again as they failed to defend their total of 179-7 at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad as they were condemned their third defeat in four matches.

Later at the same venue Abbottabad revived their last-four aspirations when Fakhar Zaman’s maiden T20 century saw Younis Khan’s team prevailed over defending champions Peshawar in a high-scoring clash by six wickets.

Multan, meanwhile, put themselves in pole position for a semi-final place from Group A’ after grabbing a sensational three-run win against Karachi Whites with both teams completing their league programme. Multan, currently, are on top of the standings in their group with eight points from five fixtures.

Kamran Akmal led from the front with a scintillating hundred before Multan all-rounder Aamir Yamin conceded just four runs in the game’s final over which began with Faisal Iqbal’s men requiring a gettable eight runs at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.

In an inconsequential encounter at the same venue, Faisalabad’s listless campaign continued with their third loss in four matches as Islamabad thumped Misbah-ul-Haq’s charges by eight wickets to celebrate their first success in the ongoing competition.

While both Faisalabad and Islamabad have no chance of qualifying for the next round, Rawalpindi and Sialkot remain very much in contention as they took on each other in Saturday’s last game under lights at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. Both these teams have secured two wins out of three matches they have played thus far and a victory for either of them will definitely see them through to the semi-finals from this pool.

Umar Akmal’s first major innings — 52 off 36 balls with four sixes and two fours — after in-form opener Ahmed Shehzad’s blistering 16-ball 40 (six fours and two sixes) lifted Lahore Whites to a total that was challenging for the opposition. Left-arm paceman Rumman Raees Khan bowled superbly once again to claim three for 26 in four overs with Shahid Afridi and Abdul Ameer taking two wickets apiece.

But Khurram, who has return to form at the right time, then stroked 16 boundaries in a commanding 44-ball innings of 81 to set up Karachi Blues’ emphatic triumph with 14 deliveries to spare. Fellow opener Shahzaib Hasan banged four fours and three sixes to score a feisty 24-ball 45 as he and Khurram added 94.

Asad Shafiq’s undefeated 36 (24 balls, four fours) provided the finishing touches with deft stroke-play.

Left-handed opener Fakhar bludgeoned 11 boundaries and three sixes in an unbeaten 100 from 62 balls to guide Abbottabad to a much-needed second win with three deliveries left. Sohail Akhtar’s 15-ball cameo of 30 further demoralized Peshawar who had earlier posted 195-4 after Younis opted to field first.

Iftikhar Ahmed was the mainstay for the champions with his highest T20 score of 90 not out while striking six sixes and four fours.

Kamran Akmal hammered 105 (57 balls, 12 fours and four sixes) to inspire Multan to 185-4 before Karachi White replied with 182-4. Shaharyar Ghani hit a valiant 64 not out (38 balls, seven fours and two sixes).

Afaq Raheem contributed an unconquered 70 (49 balls, 11 boundaries) but the icing on Islamabad’s cake was provided by skipper Imad Wasim who blasted two successive sixes to see his team overhaul Faisalabad’s tally of 158-8.

Late on Friday night, Islamabad almost sealed a miraculous win from the jaws of defeat but Anwar Ali calmly steered Karachi Blues to a nerve-wracking victory by only one wicket when he effortlessly hoisted Zohaib Ahmed for square leg for a six on the fourth ball of the final over.

Khurram had done the hard work with a fine 62 (42 balls, seven fours and three sixes) after being chiefly responsible for causing a serious nose injury to discarded Pakistan seamer Umar Gul with a very powerful shot off a free hit.

Saturday’s results:

Group ‘A’:

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: Multan beat Karachi Whites by three runs.

MULTAN 185-4 in 20 overs (Kamran Akmal 105, Naved Yasin 32, Sohaib Maqsood 26); KARACHI WHITES 182-4 in 20 overs (Shaharyar Ghani 64 not out, Rameez Raja 46, Faisal Iqbal 30, Ahsan Ali 23; Rahat Ali 2-26).

Group ‘B’:

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Karachi Blues beat Lahore Whites by seven wickets.

LAHORE WHITES 179-7 in 20 overs (Umar Akmal 52, Ahmed Shehzad 40, Saad Nasim 35, Azhar Ali 20; Rumman Raees Khan 3-26, Shahid Afridi 2-33, Abdul Ameer 2-39); KARACHI BLUES 182-3 in 17.4 overs (Khurram Manzoor 81, Shahzaib Hasan 45, Asad Shafiq 36 not out).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Abbottabad beat Peshawar by six wickets.

PESHAWAR 195-4 in 20 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 90 not out, Adil Amin 33, Mohammad Rizwan 30; Junaid Khan 2-23); ABBOTTABAD 198-4 in 19.3 overs (Fakhar Zaman 100 not out, Sohail Akhtar 30, Yasir Hameed 29). At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: Islamabad beat Faisalabad by eight wickets.

FAISALABAD 158-8 in 20 overs (Khurram Shehzad 47, Raheel Ameer 41, Misbah-ul-Haq 31; Munir-ur-Rehman 2-19, Shehzad Azam Rana 2-33); ISLAMABAD 161-2 in 18 overs (Afaq Raheem 70 not out, Babar Azam 38, Shan Masood 30).

Friday’s remaining result:

Group ‘B’:

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: Karachi Blues beat Islamabad by one wicket.

ISLAMABAD 176-6 in 20 overs (Shahid Yousuf 57, Babar Azam 43, Zohaib Ahmed 26 not out; Rumman Raees Khan 2-32); KARACHI BLUES 180-9 in 19.4 overs (Khurram Manzoor 62, Fawad Alam 33, Anwar Ali 21 not out; Imad Wasim 3-26, Shehzad Azam Rana 2-30).

Sunday’s fixtures:

Islamabad vs Abbottabad (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad, 10:00am); Karachi Blues vs Peshawar (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, 12:00noon); Sialkot vs Bahawalpur (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad, 2:00pm); Lahore Whites vs Faisalabad (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, 4:00pm); Rawalpindi vs Hyderabad (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, 8:00pm).

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play