KARACHI: It was a One-day Departmental Cup fixture no one really wanted as what should have been a good confrontation was no contest at all on Saturday.

It seemed holders Habib Bank Limited (HBL) didn’t want to turn up but once they did at the UBL Sports Complex, their demise was swift.

United Bank Limited (UBL) ran out ruthless victors by nine wickets in the second-round clash that lasted just 47.5 overs and finished on the stroke of lunch. Shan Masood, though, found enough time to go past the half-century mark as the left-handed Test opener followed up his 145 against PTV on Thursday with 58 from 55 balls as UBL overhauled HBL’s meagre tally of 104 with more than 33 overs to spare in chalking up a second straight victory.

Bereft of five first-choice players — three being on international duty in New Zealand and two ruled out with crippling injuries — the hapless HBL were blown off their feet by a mixture of indiscreet shot selection and complete lack of discipline.

Imran Farhat set the tone by slapping the first ball of the match straight into the lap of Mohammad Asghar in the covers, and then in a comedy of errors, skipper Ahmed Shehzad (7) got himself run out by getting airborne to avoid being hit by a powerful throw from Umar Akmal.

Ramiz Aziz (30) and Musadiq Ahmed (27) combined to add 47 for the fifth wicket but it was not enough as Ashiq Ali (4-20) and Asghar (2-40) backed Ehsan Adil’s strikes upfront to bowl out HBL in 31.2 overs.

Shan, leading in place of the rested Younis Khan, struck nine fours during 55-ball effort while Umar Siddique contributed 38 off 44 balls (seven fours) in the opening stand of 93 before being stumped off Ramiz.

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) continued their dominance of Wapda as the Quad-i-Azam Trophy champions eased to a seven-wicket triumph at the SBP Sports Complex.

Wapda, batting first, were restricted to 231-7 with skipper Salman Butt making the top score of 49 from 83 balls.

Asad Shafiq and Iftikhar Ahmed struck half-centuries for the second time in three days as SNGPL romped home with 34 deliveries left unutilized. Asad again thrived in the opening role as the Test right-hander slammed nine fours in scoring 62 off 66 balls.

Iftikhar and skipper Mohammad Rizwan frustrated the Wapda bowlers yet again. Following their heroics in both innings of the recent first-class competition’s final, the Peshawar duo gelled splendidly to put on 122 for the unfinished fourth wicket.

Iftikhar made a 94-ball 71 with five boundaries, while Rizwan’s run-a-ball 63 included seven hits to the fence.

Pakistan Television (PTV) drew inspiration from an all-round performance from skipper Saud Shakeel and ex-Pakistan batsman Hasan Raza to grab a narrow seven-run win against National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) at the latter’s home territory in Clifton.

Hasan, who is still only 35 despite not playing any international match since December 2005, missed out on a ninth List A ton but his 97 (off 116 balls, 10 boundaries) took him past 5,000 one-day career runs as PTV posted 244 in 49.5 overs.

Saud then followed up his run-a-ball 41 with an immaculate return of 3-31 in 10 overs of left-arm spin to combine with leg-spinner Mohammad Irfan (4-46 in 10 overs) to bowl out NBP for 237 on the last ball of the match. Both Saud and Irfan recorded their best one-day figures.

Skipper Fawad Alam (71 off 73 balls, three fours and one six) and fellow left-hander Awais Zia (70 off 72, five fours and three sixes) were the main run-getters in Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC)’s total of 291-7 against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.

Lanky paceman Ahmed Jamal (3-37) and leg-spinner Usama Mir (3-51) bowled well as KRL were sent for 204 as SSGC won handsomely by 87 runs.

Results on Saturday:

Second round:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: UBL beat HBL by nine wickets.

HBL 104 in 31.2 overs (Ramiz Aziz 30, Musadiq Ahmed 27; Ashiq Ali 4-20, Ehsan Adil 2-13, Mohammad Asghar 2-40); UBL 106-1 in 16.3 overs (Shan Masood 58 not out, Umar Siddique 38).

At SBP Sports Complex, Karachi: SNGPL beat Wapda by seven wickets.

WAPDA 231-7 in 50 overs (Salman Butt 49, Mansoor Amjad 39, Khushdil Shah 33, Zahid Mansoor 28, Khalid Usman 28 not out; Imran Khalid 3-50); SNGPL 232-3 in 44.2 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 71 not out, Mohammad Rizwan 63 not out, Asad Shafiq 62; Khalid Usman 2-42).

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: PTV beat NBP by seven runs.

PTV 244 in 49.5 overs (Hasan Raza 97, Saud Shakeel 41, Nihal Mansoor 36, Ali Khan 28; Raza Hasan 4-49); NBP 237 in 50 overs (Naved Yasin 69, Ahsan Ali 38, Haris Ali Khan 37, Rameez Raja 28; Mohammad Irfan 4-46, Saud Shakeel 3-31).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: SSGC beat KRL by 87 runs.

SSGC 291-7 in 50 overs (Fawad Alam 71, Awais Zia 70, Umar Amin 46, Saifullah Khan Bangash 29, Usama Mir 25; Sadaf Hussain 3-61); KRL 204 in 44.1 overs (Sardar Hasan Raza 45, Shoaib Ahmed Minhas 38, Jaahid Ali 34, Saif Badar 34; Ahmed Jamal 3-37, Usama Mir 3-51).

Monday’s fixtures: SNGPL vs SSGC (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); HBL vs PTV (SBP Sports Complex, Karachi); Wapda vs KRL (NBP Sports Complex, Karachi); NBP vs UBL (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Published in Dawn, December 31st, 2017