KARACHI: Despite winning their last league-round fixture on Friday, Quetta missed out on a PCB Inter-region Under-19 One-day Cup semi-final by a whisker as Fata qualified on net run-rate.

Quetta needed to defeat Karachi Whites and won their Group ‘A’ match at the National Ground in Islamabad by 19 runs to finish with identical number of points (12 apiece) as first-placed Islamabad and Fata. But Fata’s overall net run-rate of +0.698 was shade superior to Quetta’s +0.673.

Opting to bat first, Quetta were bowled out for 121 at the start of the 46th over with only opener Wahid Bangulzai producing a substantial innings of 56 from 102 balls with the aid of three boundaries and one six.

Paceman Mohammad Makki captured four wickets for 22 runs in seven overs but heroics were wasted as Karachi Whites mustered a disappointing 96 all out in 33.2 overs.

Fata, meanwhile, chalked up a convincing 82-run victory against Lahore Whites — who capitulated to their seventh loss in eight fixtures and finished at the base of this pool with a solitary point — at the Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital.

Put into bat, Fata posted a healthy 276 in 49.3 overs with opener Mohammad Aftab Alam (74 off 76 balls, nine boundaries and one six) and all-rounder Mohammad Abbas Afridi (55 off 43, three fours and one six) being the major run-getters.

Lahore Whites, in reply, were restricted to 194 in 46.5 overs with seamer Abdul Raheem claiming four wickets for 20 runs in 6.5 overs.

Karachi Blues won the battle to top Group ‘B’ when they clinched a scrappy three-wicket success against Peshawar at the NBP Sports Complex here in the city with both teams going through to the last-four stage of the competition, which resumes after the Hajj and Eid-ul-Azha holidays.

Peshawar, opting to bat first at the toss, managed a meagre 117 all out in 41.4 overs with captain Mohammad Mohsin Khan contributing a 96-ball 56 (seven boundaries).

Slow left-armer Tariq Khan stole the limelight with magnificent return of 6-21 in 10 overs.

Karachi Blues got the required runs for the loss of seven wickets in the 33rd over.

Meanwhile in an inconsequential Group ‘A’ tie at the Marghazar Ground, Azad Jammu Kashmir were skittled out for just 37 in 15 overs with Rawalpindi fast bowler Munir Riaz grabbing six wickets for 17 runs before his team raced to 39-0 in 5.1 overs.

Friday’s results:

Ninth round:

Group ‘A’:

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: Faisalabad beat Dera Murad Jamali by four wickets.

DERA MURAD JAMALI 133 in 37.1 overs (Mohammad 47, Ubaidullah 25; Mohammad Bilal Javed 3-27, Saif Ali 3-28, Mohammad Suleman Shafqat 2-31); FAISALABAD 135-6 in 43.5 overs (Mohammad Shoaib Khan 38 not out, Mohammad Awais Zafar 27, Ali Mustafa 25 not out, Daniyal Ali 21; Fahad Hussain 4-22).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Fata beat Lahore Whites by 82 runs.

FATA 276 in 49.3 overs (Mohammad Aftab Alam 74, Mohammad Abbas Afridi 55, Mohammad Ajmal 33, Nasir Faraz 33, Salman Khan 27; Danish Butt 4-47, Adil Sarwar 3-57, Syed Faridoun 2-57); LAHORE WHITES 194 in 46.5 overs (Hasan Dar 60, Hamza Sani 47, Mohammad Arsalan 25; Abdul Raheem 4-20, Mohammad Wasim 3-35).

At Marghazar Ground, Islamabad: Rawalpindi beat Azad Jammu Kashmir by 10 wickets.

AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 37 in 15 overs (Munir Riaz 6-17, Shiraz Khan 3-19); RAWALPINDI 39-0 in 5.1 overs (Haider Ali 28 not out).

At National Ground, Islamabad: Quetta beat Karachi Whites by 19 runs.

QUETTA 121-5 in 45.1 overs (Wahid Bangulzai 56, Rasheed Ahmed 20; Mohammad Makki 4-22, Mohammad Taha 2-16, Mohammad Waqas 2-22); KARACHI WHITES 96 in 33.2 overs (Mohammad Taha 26; Hussain Ahmed 3-13, Mohammad Ibrahim 3-34, Mohammad Ajmal 2-15, Junaid Khan 2-23).

Group ‘B’:

At National Stadium, Karachi: Multan beat Larkana by two wickets.

LARKANA 239-8 in 50 overs (Ashfaq Ahmed 53, Javed Ali Khoso 49, Aamir Ali 35, Umar Khalid 25; Mohammad Jahangir 3-35, Mohammad Asif 2-41); MULTAN 241-8 in 49.4 overs (Mohammad Basit 93, Saim Ayaz 46, Ali Hasnain 37; Javed Ali Khoso 2-46).

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: Lahore Blues beat Abbottabad by 10 wickets.

ABBOTTABAD 133 in 37.4 overs (Shahbaz Khan 35, Sanaullah 24 not out; Mohammad Bilal Khan 3-32, Nasim Shah 2-17, Shahroze Afzal 2-42); LAHORE BLUES 134-0 in 34.1 overs (Syed Taqi Bilgrami 67 not out, Ibtisam-ul-Haq 55 not out).

Karachi Blues beat Sialkot by 161 runs.

At TMC Ground, Karachi: Sialkot beat Hyderabad by seven wickets.

HYDERABAD 141 in 50 overs (Mohammad Faisal 49; Ghulam Mohiuddin 3-23, Farrukh Waqas 3-27, Haroon Ahmed 2-9); SIALKOT 142-3 in 17.1 overs (Ashir Bhatti 59 not out, Mohsin Riaz 50 not out; Saad Khan 2-34).

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: Karachi Blues beat Peshawar by three wickets.

PESHAWAR 117 in 41.4 overs (Mohammad Mohsin Khan 56, Awais Ali Shah 25; Tariq Khan 6-21, Khalid-un-Nabi 2-12); KARACHI BLUES 119-7 in 32.2 overs (Obaisullah Khan 30 not out, Ahsanullah 25; Ijaz-ur-Rehman 2-9, Mohammad Imran 2-22, Izhar Ahmed 2-28).

Final standings

(Tabulated under played, won, lost, abandoned, points, net run-rate):

Group ‘A’:

Islamabad 8 5 1 2 12 +1.544

Fata 8 5 1 2 12 +0.698

Quetta 8 5 1 2 12 +0.673

Faisalabad 8 5 2 1 9 +1.286

Karachi Whites 8 4 3 1 9 +0.152

Rawalpindi 8 3 4 1 5 +0.773

Dera Murad Jamali 8 1 5 2 4 -0.455

Azad Jammu Kashmir 8 1 5 2 4 -0.664

Lahore Whites 8 0 7 1 1 -1.781

Group ‘B’:

Karachi Blues 8 7 1 0 14 +1.192

Peshawar 8 6 2 0 12 +0.866

Sialkot 8 6 2 0 12 +0.238

Lahore Blues 8 5 3 0 10 +0.583

Abbottabad 8 3 5 0 6 -0.095

Larkana 8 3 5 0 6 -0.583

Multan 8 3 5 0 6 -0.728

Hyderabad 8 2 6 0 4 -0.664

Bahawalpur 8 1 7 0 2 -0.920

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2018