KARACHI: Despite being forced to field a second-string side, Lahore Lions clinched the remaining semi-final berth in the AlBaraka Cup presents Haier T20 Cup after handing Abbottabad Falcons a seven-wicket defeat here on Friday.

The toss, however, played a significant role in the winners’ all last Group ‘D’ game, in deciding the outcome as the overcast conditions meant the National Stadium pitch didn’t dried up in the morning fixture. Azhar Ali had no doubt in his mind after calling correctly and his decision paid off handsomely as the Falcons hardly managed to break the shackles.

The Falcons, who somehow did well to get a respectable score 131 owing to a late cameo from Ahmed Jamal, were undone by extremely poor running between the wickets as three of the batsmen dismissed were run out. Adnan Raees was responsible for two of those run-outs, including that of Younis Khan. Adnan was guilty of leaving his captain stranded after calling for a single when Younis played behind point.

Adnan was also responsible for Kamran Ghulam, the youngster who could have made a big difference with his big-hitting ability. The left-handed Adnan tried to make up for his follies with a 25-ball 28 but he was not able to break free when it mattered most.

Ahmed then blasted three huge sixes and a brace of boundaries in a 10-ball 29 but it was never enough for the Falcons to defend.

Kamran Akmal thrashed eight boundaries on his way to scoring 39 from 29 balls as the Lions reached their target with 15 deliveries left unused. The discarded Pakistan wicket-keeper/batsman was later adjudged man-of-the-match.

After the Kamran show was ended by a sharp catch at cover by Younis, Azhar anchored the chase with an undefeated 32.

In Saturday’s semi-finals, Sialkot Stallions will meet Peshawar Panthers and the Lions will face Multan Tigers in the second.

Final Group ‘D’ standings

(Tabulated under played, won, lost, tied, points, net run-rate): Lahore Lions 3 2 1 0 4 +2.138 Abbottabad Falcons 3 2 1 0 4 +1.610 Bahawalpur Stags 3 1 2 0 2 -0.595 DMJ Ibexes 3 1 2 0 2 -3.051

Scoreboard

ABBOTTABAD FALCONS:

Yasir Hameed c Kamran b Emmad4 Fakhar Zaman c Aftab b Emmad9 Younis Khan run out16 Waqar Orakzai run out14 Adnan Raees c Hamza b Irfan28 Kamran Ghulam run out4 Khalid Usman lbw b Azhar2 Yasir Shah c Qaiser b Aftab16 Ahmed Jamal c and b Qaiser29 Fazle Rabbi c Hamza b Qaiser1 Mohammad Naeem not out0

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-6)8

TOTAL (all out, 19.4 overs)131

FALL OF WKTS: 1-15, 2-20, 3-48, 4-52, 4-56, 6-65, 7-94, 8-118, 9-131.

BOWLING: Mohammad Aftab 4-0-29-1 (2w); Emmad Ali 2-0-20-2 (3w); Qaiser Ashraf 3.4-0-25-2; Mohammad Irfan 3-0- 21-1; Azhar Ali 4-0-25-1; Hamza Paracha 3-0-9-0 (1w).

LAHORE LIONS:

Kamran Akmal c Younis b Khalid39 Muntazir Mehdi c Adnan b Fazle9 Imam-ul-Haq c Yasir Hameed b Naeem15 Azhar Ali not out32 Fahad-ul-Haq not out16

EXTRAS (for three wkts, 17.3 overs)21

TOTAL (for three wkts, 17.3 overs)132

FALL OF WKTS: 1-31, 2-67, 3-93.

DID NOT BAT: Abid Ali, Hamza Paracha, Qaiser Ashraf, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Aftab, Emmad Ali.

BOWLING: Ahmed Jamal 3-0-26-0 (2w); Fazle Rabbi 2-1-8-1 (5w); Khalid Usman 4-0-32-1; Yasir Shah 4-0-31-0 (1nb, 1w); Kamran Ghulam 1-0-4-0; Mohammad Naeem 3.3-0-27-1 (1nb, 1w).

RESULT: Lahore Lions won by seven wickets.

UMPIRES: Asif Yaqoob and Riazuddin.

TV UMPIRE: Ahmed Shahab.

MATCH REFEREE: Mohammad Anees.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Kamran Akmal.

SATURDAY’S FIXTURES: Sialkot Stallions vs Peshawar Panthers (first semi-final, 11:00am); Multan Tigers vs Lahore Lions (second semi-final, 7:00pm).

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2014