KARACHI: Inspired by splendid knocks from Jaahid Ali and Shoaib Ahmed Minhas, Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) eased themselves into the semi-finals of the Quaid-i-Azam One-day Cup after sealing a comfortable six wicket victory against Multan at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Monday.

Unlike the first two quarter-finals, this one at least was competitive with KRL booking a date in Thursday’s first semi-final against Wapda when Abdul Rehman Muzammil struck the winning runs — a boundary off paceman Saddam Afridi in the 47th over after Multan had made 261-8 in their turn at the crease earlier in the day.

Shoaib, the 28-year-old right-hander, missed out on only his second List A century by just eight runs when was dismissed by seamer Ghulam Rehman at the start of the 42nd over when KRL still required 32 runs.

Gulraiz Sadaf, the wicket-keeper/batsman from Burewala who usually plays for Multan when not departmental duty, set the tone with a bright 30-ball innings of 34 upfront while adding 55 for the first wicket with Jaahid inside the opening Powerplay. His knock included four boundaries and one six.

For the better part of next 26 overs, Multan looked hapless and rather dejected in the field as Jaahid and Shoaib shared a brilliant partnership of 149 before off-spinning all-rounder Hasnain Bukhari held a return catch to get rid of Jaahid for a 113-ball 82.

The Karachi-born 23-year-old opener, who bats right-handed, adorned his eighth one-day half-century with seven boundaries.

Shoaib, who had a good day altogether following a decent off-spin stint of 2-39 in 10 overs, was fourth man out as Ghulam picked up his third wicket with KRL skipper Usman Arshad being his other victim for nine. Shoaib’s 83-ball effort was embellished with 14 boundaries.

Both Usman and Shoaib were caught by Imran Rafiq, the promising left-hander who was Multan’s mainstay with the bat with yet another telling contribution this season.

The 21-year-old Imran, who hails from Dera Ghazi Khan, looked in sublime touch against a decent KRL bowling lineup that included Sadaf Hussain, often touted as one left-arm speedster who could be part of the Pakistan team.

Arriving at the crease after Shoaib had dismissed both left-handed openers — the in-form Multan captain Zeeshan Ashraf, who struggled to get going while making a pedestrian 40-ball 19, and Usman Liaquat 8) — Imran resurrected the Multan innings from further disaster as he crunched seven fours in a superb 70 from 100 deliveries, while taking his final tally in the ongoing competition to 348 runs, before becoming 100th wicket for Nauman Ali after putting on 64 for the third wicket with fellow left-hander Yousuf Babar (25).

Khalilullah (31 off 30 balls, three fours), Hasnain Bukhari (38 off 27, two sixes and two fours) and Ibtisam Sheikh (32 off 23, three fours and one six) were the other major run-getters for the regional outfit.

Nauman, the 32-year-old Sanghar-born slow left-armer, claimed two for 48 in 10 overs.

Islamabad, only other regional team to reach the knockout stage, take on Pakistan Television (PTV) in the remaining quarter-final on Tuesday with the winners qualifying to meet Habib Bank Limited in the other semi-final on Friday.

Scoreboard

MULTAN:

Zeeshan Ashraf c Saif b Shoaib 19

Usman Liaquat c Mohsin b Shoaib 8

Yousuf Babar b Nauman 25

Imran Rafiq c Mohsin b Nauman 70

Khalilullah c Shoaib b Sadaf 31

Hasnain Bukhari run out 38

Ibtisam Sheikh run out 32

Ali Usman b Sameen 8

Ali Hasnain not out 3

Ghulam Rehman not out 4

EXTRAS (B-5, LB-9, W-8, NB-1) 23

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 5o overs) 261

FALL OF WKTS: 1-34, 2-35, 3-99, 4-159, 5-200, 6-221, 7-243, 8-257.

DID NOT BAT: Saddam Afridi.

BOWLING: Sadaf Hussain 10-1-47-1 (2w); Mohammad Bilawal 7.3-0-38-0 (2w); Sameen Gul 8.3-1-42-1 (1nb, 3w); Shoaib Ahmed Minhas 10-0-39-2; Nauman Ali 10-0-48-2; Mohammad Mohsin 4-0-33-0 (1w).

KHAN RESEARCH LABORATORIES:

Gulraiz Sadaf c Saddam b Rehman 34

Jaahid Ali c and b Hasnain Bukhari 82

Shoaib Ahmed Minhas c Imran b Rehman 92

Usman Arshad c Imran b Rehman 9

Abdul Rehman Muzammil not out 30

Mohammad Mohsin not out 6

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-4) 9

TOTAL (for four wkts, 46.5 overs) 262

FALL OF WKTS: 1-55, 2-204, 3-223, 4-230.

DID NOT BAT: Saif Badar, Nauman Ali, Sadaf Hussain, Sameen Gul, Mohammad Bilawal.

BOWLING: Saddam Afridi 9.5-0-68-0 (3w); Ghulam Rehman 10-1-46-3 (1w); Ali Usman 10-1-33-0; Ibtisam Sheikh 6-0-45-0; Hasnain Bukhari 10-0-60-1; Imran Rafiq 1-0-5-0.

RESULT: Khan Research Laboratories won by six wickets.

UMPIRES: Mohammad Sajid Afridi and Qaiser Waheed.

TV UMPIRE: Ahmed Shahab.

MATCH REFEREE: Aziz-ur-Rehman.

OFFICIAL SCORER: Zahoor Alam.

FOURTH QUARTER-FINAL: PTV vs Islamabad, Tuesday (9:00am).

Published in Dawn, October 30th , 2018