KARACHI: Three of the second-round fixtures in the National One-day for Regions on Tuesday were again curtailed by poor weather in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, but it didn’t prevent both Khurram Manzoor and Hussain Talat striking match-winning centuries.

Upcoming all-rounder Hussain Talat proved himself to be a generous guest for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) who upset Rawalpindi by six runs at the Marghazar Cricket Ground in Islamabad.

After being put into bat in the only solitary 50-over game, Fata overcame a disastrous 30-4 start to reach 224 all out in 46.4 overs thanks chiefly to the heroics of 20-year-old Hussain.

The tall young left-hander, coming to bat No 3, contributed 123 off 139 balls with the help of nine fours and three sixes. Hussain was easily the dominant partner in the fifth-wicket partnership of 71 with Adeel Basit (24 off 45 balls, two sixes) in 66 minutes.

The left-arm trio of Sadaf Hussain (3-42 in 10 overs), Kashif Bhatti (3-40 in 10) and skipper Sohail Tanvir (2-27 in 7.4) shared the bowling honours.

Rawalpindi made a steady start but loss of wickets at regular intervals dented their chase badly as they folded up for 218 in 49.4 overs. Young leg-spinning all-rounder Shadab Khan was the main run-getter with a 63-ball 56 that included four boundaries and a brace of sixes, while Pakistan discard Sohaib Maqsood faced as many as 71 to make 38 with two sixes and one four after opener Awais Zia hit five fours in scoring 30 off 36 balls.

Khurram Manzoor, the discarded Pakistan opener, hammered an unbeaten 114 to power Karachi Blues to a D/L Method victory over Lahore Blues by 10 runs at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi.

Khurram compiled 114 for his 17th List A ton in 115 appearances as Karachi Blues reached 204-5 in 43 overs when the game ended with them being well ahead under the calculations.

Khurram’s 133-ball stay saw the right-hander strike 10 boundaries. Fazal Subhan also played a fine hand of 42 while putting on 107 with Khurram for the second wicket. Fazal’s 59-ball effort included two fours and one four.

Earlier, Lahore Blues made 217-6 in 46 overs after being put into bat by Khalid Latif. Kamran Akmal, the most likely inclusion in the Pakistan for the upcoming Australia one-day series following the withdrawal of the country’s ODI vice-captain Sarfraz Ahmed, slammed a 72-ball 47 with four boundaries.

Test paceman Sohail Khan captured four wickets for 34 runs in nine overs with talented slow left-armer Mohammad Asghar grabbing 3-47 in his 10-over spell.

In the televised fixture at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Karachi Whites registered their second straight success when they nailed Lahore Whites by seven wickets in a truncated 24-over clash.

Captain Akbar-ur-Rehman, for the second game running, led the modest chase for 151 with a 41-ball 43 that was laced with five boundaries and one six with opener Ahsan Ali (34 off 30 balls, five fours) and Saad Ali 9an undefeated 41 off 40, five fours) lending good support.

Earlier, Lahore Whites could make only 150-7 after being put in. Anas Mahmood scored a 51-ball 56 with the aid of four fours and one six, while discarded Pakistan seamer Anwar Ali took 3-36 in his five overs and fast bowler Tabish Khan 2-33 in five overs.

Hosts Islamabad who crushed Peshawar by 110 runs at the Diamond Club Ground.

Asked to bat first, Islamabad overcame a hesitant beginning, when they had slumped to 77-4 in the 21st over, to post 245-6 in the restricted 47 overs.

Shahid Yousuf excelled by hitting four boundaries and two sixes in his 59 from 65 deliveries, while Faizan Riaz struck a 76-ball 78, featuring six fours and one six as they two added 86 for the fifth wicket before skipper Zohaib Ahmed blasted a quick 36 off only 27 balls with three boundaries and one six.

Ahmed Shehzad also made a contribution of 32 from 43 balls with five hits to the fence.

Peshawar’s response was pretty disappointing as they capitulated inside 33 overs for only 135. Test batsman Iftikhar Ahmed made a 46-ball 31.

Shehzad Azam Rana claimed 4-30.

Tuesday’s results:

Second round:

LAHORE WHITES 150-7 in 24 overs (Anas Mahmood 56, Usman Salahuddin 29, Rizwan Hussain 28; Anwar Ali 3-36, Tabish Khan 2-33); KARACHI WHITES 153-3 in 22.2 overs (Akbar-ur-Rehman 43, Saad Ali 41 not out, Ahsan Ali 34, Anwar Ali 20 not out; Qaiser Ashraf 2-26).

LAHORE BLUES 217-8 in 46 overs (Kamran Akmal 47, Saad Nasim 40, Raza Ali Dar 31, Agha Salman 25; Sohail Khan 4-34, Mohammad Asghar 3-47); KARACHI BLUES 204-5 in 43 overs (Khurram Manzoor 114 not out, Fazal Subhan 42).

FATA 224 in 46.4 overs (Hussain Talat 123, Adeel Basit 24; Kashif Bhatti 3-40, Sadaf Hussain 3-42, Sohail Tanvir 2-27); RAWALPINDI 218 in 49.4 overs (Shadab Khan 56, Sohaib Maqsood 38, Umar Waheed 35, Awais Zia 30, Yasir Hameed 20, Kashif Bhatti 20; Asif Afridi 2-29, Saad Altaf 2-32, Mohammad Irfan 2-56)

ISLAMABAD 245-6 in 47 overs (Faizan Riaz 78, Shahid Yousuf 59, Zohaib Ahmed 36 not out, Ahmed Shehzad 32; Khalid Usman 2-36, Azizullah 2-49); PESHAWAR 135 in 32.2 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 31, Gohar Ali 27, Khalid Usman 23, Sahibzada Farhan 21; Shehzad Azam Rana 4-30, Ali Imran 2-29).

Published in Dawn, January 11th, 2017