KARACHI: Sialkot Stallions rode on a hurricane century from debutant Bilal Asif to gallop into the semi-finals of the Cool & Cool presents Haier Super 8 T20 Cup with a barnstorming 87-run victory over Abbottabad Falcons at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad late on Friday night.

The result helped the Shoaib Malik-led Stallions top Group ‘A’ on a better net run-rate as they reached the knockout stage along with Rawalpindi Rams, who despite losing to Peshawar Panthers earlier on Friday, clinched the second spot.

The 29-year-old debutant Bilal, who is primarily an off-spinning all-rounder, smashed his way into the record books with the quickest T20 hundred in Pakistan domestic circuit — spanking 114 off mere 48 deliveries — by reaching the coveted milestone with a six off the 43rd ball the Sialkot-born right-hander faced.

Bilal’s stupendous knock, featuring eight sixes and 10 boundaries, was the cornerstone of the Stallions’ imposing 240-4 — the 11th highest team total in T20 cricket — after Falcons skipper Junaid Khan, quite astonishingly decided to field first upon winning the toss in the last fixture of this pool.

The Pakistan left-arm paceman was left to rue his decision as Bilal single-handedly dominated the game after coming to the crease at the fall of the first wicket in the third over; Nauman Anwar falling to Yasir Shah for 13.

Mukhtar Ahmed, who made his international T20 debut against Bangladesh last month, played second fiddle to Bilal during their partnership of 56 before being stumped for a 21-ball 27.

Malik then arrived to let Bilal keep on scoring at a breakneck pace as the duo put on 105 for the third wicket in just 9.4 overs when Junaid finally had Bilal caught to leave Stallions at 199-3.

Malik opened up after Bilal’s dismissal to remain unbeaten on 56 (37 balls, six fours and one six) while adding 41 with Haris Sohail who was out on the final delivery of the innings.

The second half of play was of academic interest as the Falcons were all out for 153 midway through the 18th over. Junaid, who had returned unflattering analysis of 2-60, redeemed himself with three sixes and as many fours in a career-best 36.

Leg-spinner Usama Mir cashed in on the opportunity to make telling impression on the national selectors present by grabbing his best-ever T20 figures of 4-24 in only his seventh match. But he was not among candidates for the man-of-the-match award after the unforgettable power-hitting from Bilal.

Scoreboard

SIALKOT STALLIONS:

Mukhtar Ahmed st Sajjad b Kamran27

Nauman Anwar lbw b Yasir13

Bilal Asif c Haroon b Junaid114

Shoaib Malik not out56

Haris Sohail c Adnan b Junaid10

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-4, W-4, NB-8)20

TOTAL (for four wkts, 20 overs)240

FALL OF WKTS: 1-38, 2-94, 3-199, 4-240.

DID NOT BAT: Ali Khan, Ayaz Tasawwar, Ahmed Butt, Bilawal Bhatti, Usama Mir, Sultan Ahmed.

BOWLING: Junaid Khan 4-0-60-2; Khalid Usman 3-0-41-0; Yasir Shah 4-0-35-1 (1w); Kamran Ghulam 3-0-24-1 (1w); Ikramullah Khan 4-0-53-0 (2nb, 1w); Haroon 2-0-19-0.

ABBOTTABAD FALCONS:

Sajjad Ali b Sultan7

Haroon c Mukhtar b Bilal22

Kamran Ghulam lbw b Sultan29

Adnan Raees b Usama28

Mohammad Nasim b Usama3

Rameez Ahmed lbw b Malik10

Javedullah lbw b Usama0

Yasir Shah c Malik b Usama5

Khalid Usman c and b Haris7

Junaid Khan lbw b Mukhtar36

Ikramullah Khan not out2

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-3)4

TOTAL (all out, 17.3 overs)153

FALL OF WKTS: 1-9, 2-50, 3-64, 4-92, 5-93, 6-93, 7-105, 8-114, 9-114.

BOWLING: Sultan Ahmed 3-030-2 (1w); Bilawal Bhatti 2-0-20-0 (1w); Bilal Asif 4-0-31-1; Usama Mir 4-0-24-4; Shoaib Malik 2-0-19-1 (1w); Haris Sohail 2-0-18-1; Mukhtar Ahmed 0.3-0-10-1.

RESULT: Sialkot Stallions won by 87 runs.

UMPIRES: Ahsan Raza and Shozab Raza.

TV UMPIRE: Khalid Mahmood.

MATCH REFEREE: Anwer Khan.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Bilal Asif.

Published in Dawn, May 17th, 2015

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