KARACHI: Larkana Bulls endured a harrowing time on their maiden Faysal Bank T20 Cup appearance when the six-time champions Sialkot Stallions simply flattened them by a huge margin of 97 runs at the Marghazar Cricket Ground in Islamabad on Friday.

Opting to bowl after a delayed start following Thursday’s downpour in the federal capital, the Bulls could do little to stop the Stallions galloping to 166-6. Shakeel Ansar, the veteran wicket-keeper, anchored his way to an undefeated 54 with his 40-ball knock including three fours and two sixes.

The early run out of Imran Nazir and skipper Shoaib Malik – who returned home earlier than planned by opting to sit out Hobart Hurricane’s Big Bash final in Perth on Friday – didn’t mattered as Haris Sohail (34 off 27 balls, five boundaries), Shahid Yousuf (39 off 27, four fours and one six) and Ali Khan (20 off 12, two fours) scored at will.

The Bulls mustered 69-9 against a classy bowling combination to end the Group ‘A’ mismatch as Bilawal Bhatti nipped out three wickets for mere seven runs. But despite his effort, it was Shakeel who got the Man-of-the-Match prize.

Scoreboard

SIALKOT STALIONS:

Imran Nazir run out 6

Shakeel Ansar not out 54

Haris Sohail c Ali Mudassar b 34

Shoaib Malik c Rameez b Zahid 2

Shahid Yousuf b Zahid 39

Ali Khan c Waqas b Yasin 20

Bilawal Bhatti b Yasin 11

EXTRAS 0

TOTAL (for six wkts, 20 overs) 166

FALL OF WKTS: 1-5, 2-57, 3-62, 4-116, 5-154, 6-166.

DID NOT BAT: Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Abdur Rehman, Sarfraz Ahmed, Raza Hasan.

BOWLING: Ali Mudassar 3-0-31-0; Ghulam Yasin 4-0-33-2; Mohammad Siddique 4-0-23-1; Mohammad Urs 2-0-26-0; Zahid Mahmood 4-0-25-2; Imran Chandio 3-0-28-0.

LARKANA BULLS:

Ahsan Ali lbw b Sarfraz 6

Asif Babar c Bilawal b Raza 1

Ghulam Yasin c Rehman b Raza 10

Mohammad Waqas b Sarfraz 0

Rameez Ahmed b Rehman 9

Zafar Ali not out 20

Mohammad Urs c Haris b Rehman 2

Mohammad Siddique b Bilawal 5

Ali Mudassar c Haris b Bilawal 0

Zahid Mahmood c Imran b Bilawal 6

Imran Chandio not out 5

EXTRAS (LB-3, W-2) 5

TOTAL (for nine wkts, 20 overs) 69

FALL OF WKTS: 1-8, 2-8, 3-19, 4-19, 5-35, 6-39, 7-52, 8-62, 9-63.

BOWLING: Sarfraz Ahmed 3-0-10-2; Raza Hasan 3-0-11-2 (1w); Shoaib Malik 4-0-18-0 (1w); Abdur Rehman 4-1-11-2; Bilawal Bhatti 3-1-7-3; Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 2-0-8-0; Shahid Yousuf 1-0-1-0.

RESULT: Sialkot Stallions won by 97 runs.

UMPIRES: Mir Dad and Sajid Afridi.

MATCH REFEREE: Iqbal Sheikh.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Shakeel Ansar.