KARACHI: The New Year dawned on a catastrophic note for high-flying Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) here on Monday when the first-class title winners succumbed to a nine-wicket thrashing in the One-day Departmental Cup fixture.

Coming into the third-round game against Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) at the UBL Sports Complex precisely a week after clinching the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Champio­nship crown, SNGPL were hoping to carry on the winning momentum.

But Mohammad Rizwan’s men were blown off their feet as SSGC first bundled them out for 71 inside 28 overs and then cantered to their second straight win in the tournament by a clinical margin of nine wickets well before the scheduled lunch interval.

Habib Bank Limited (HBL), meanwhile, capitulated to their second drubbing in the space of three days when the improving Pakistan Television (PTV) cruised to a thoroughly deserving 10 wicket victory, their second success on the trot, at the SBP Sports Complex. United Bank Limited (UBL) continued their red-hot form in chalking up another emphatic win to remain the only unbeaten side in the eight-team competition. Their latest victims were National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) who went down by 94 runs at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.

Wapda sealed a 44-run win at the NBP Sports Complex against Khan Research Laboratories, who like NBP are yet to taste a victory.

The triumphant SSGC skipper Fawad Alam reasoned SNGPL’s collapse was attributed to lack of application as gangling speedster Ahmed Jamal picked up four wickets for 28 runs in nine overs after coming on second change, while slow left-armer Kashif Bhatti delivered a miserly 10-over spell of 3-12.

“We are delighted to have won here today but the fact is that the game lacked competitiveness. There was fair bit of moisture underneath the surface and when you have to start at 9:30 on a winter morning, it is obvious the batsmen would struggle early on,” the Pakistan discard told Dawn.

“I also believe that the scheduling of matches is also a key element in not allowing curators enough to time to prepare decent [one-day] pitches. And when you are forced to play with only a day off between matches, it inevitably takes toll on the players.”

The run-out of Taimur Sultan upfront without facing a ball immediately put SNGPL on the back foot after Fawad elected to field first on a cool morning. The entire innings lasted 118 minutes and only 27.5 overs.

The expected recovery from the experienced lot never materialised, which was a disturbing sign as the likes of Asad Shafiq (15), Iftikhar Ahmed (11) and Rizwan (14) were all guilty of committing hara-kiri despite having Pakistan colours, while Sadaqat Ali (11) was the only other batsman to enter double figures.

SSGC then effortlessly knocked off the 72 runs they had to chase in only 14.4 overs with Sami Aslam (39) and Muzammil Nizam (30) adding 69 without being separated.

Saud Shakeel was vindicated in asking HBL to bat first as the PTV skipper himself played a big part in dismissing Ahmed Shehzad’s side for 113 in 36.5 overs. Saud and follow slow left-armer Samiullah shared six wickets between them with fellow spinners, Waleed Khan and Mohammad Irfan, bagging a brace each.

Barring opener Salman Afridi (50 off 85 balls, four boundaries), it was another tale of woes for HBL who were shot out for only 104 against UBL on Saturday.

The right-left opening combination of Nihal Mansoor and Mohammad Yasin needed 17.2 overs to seal the match for PTV. Yasin scored a 49-ball 59 (eight fours and two sixes) and Nihal hit 56 off 55 with 10 fours and the winning runs — a six over mid-wicket off Musadiq Ahmed.

Shan Masood continued with his purple patch with his second century in three unbeaten knocks as UBL amassed 344-3 after Younis Khan opted to bat first in the curtailed 47-over clash against NBP in Hyderabad.

The left-handed Test opener followed up his scores of 147 and 59 in the first two matches by reaching 105 with his 121-ball innings containing eight fours. Shan played second fiddle to Umar Akmal, who bludgeoned 97 off 67 balls (10 fours and five sixes), in their second-wicket stand of 148.

Sohaib Maqsood also hit form with an 83-ball 112, laced with eight fours and six sixes, as the right-hander put on 168 for the third wicket with Shan.

NBP’s response dismally ended at 250-7.

Zahid Mansoor (90 off 88 balls, nine fours and three sixes) and skipper Salman Butt (48 off 63, four boundaries) added 97 for the third wicket to help Wapda post 277-9 after KRL elected to field first.

Wahab Riaz then grabbed four wickets for 48 runs in 10 overs to restrict KRL to 233-8.

Results on Monday:

Third round:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: SSGC bt SNGPL by nine wickets.

SNGPL 71 in 27.5 overs (Asad Shafiq 15; Ahmed Jamal 4-28, Kashif Bhatti 3-12); SSGC 72-1 in 14.4 overs (Sami Aslam 39 not out, Muzammil Nizam 30 not out).

At SBP Sports Complex, Karachi: PTV bt HBL by 10 wickets.

HBL 113 in 36.5 overs (Salman Afridi 50; Samiullah 3-8, Saud Shakeel 3-23, Mohammad Irfan 2-15, Waleed Malik 2-24); PTV 118-0 in 17.2 overs (Mohammad Yasin 59 not out, Nihal Mansoor 56 not out).

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: Wapda bt KRL by 44 runs.

WAPDA 277-9 in 50 overs (Zahid Mansoor 90, Salman Butt 48, Khushdil Shah 42, Kamran Akmal 26, Shoaib Leghari 24, Wahab Riaz 20; Yasir Ali 3-35, Ali Shafiq 257); KRL 233-8 in 50 overs (Junaid Ali 67, Jaahid Ali 57, Sardar Hasan Raza 29, Nayyar Abbas 20; Wahab Riaz 4-48, Mansoor Amjad 2-40).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: UBL bt NBP by 94 runs.

UBL 344-3 in 47 overs (Sohaib Maqsood 112, Shan Masood 105 not out, Umar Akmal 97); NBP 250-7 in 47 overs (Qaiser Abbas 57 not out, Naved Yasin 50, Kamran Ghulam 44, Raza Hasan 42 not out, Bilal Asif 27; Ashiq Ali 2-51).

Wednesday s fixtures:

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

Published in Dawn, January 2nd, 2018