KARACHI: Mohammad Irfan Jr produced a sensational spell of pace bowling as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) chalked a five-wicket victory that put an end to Multan’s unblemished run in the National T20 Cup in Multan on Saturday.

Irfan, the 23-year-old right-armer from Nankana Sahib who has yet to play international cricket, starred with career-best return of 5-17 in three overs at the Multan Cricket Stadium to help Fata curtail Multan to 136-9 after captain Sohaib Maqsood had elected to bat first.

Irfan had figures of 1-15 before being summoned by Fata skipper Asif Afridi for the final over of Multan innings. The first two deliveries saw Irfan cleaning up Mohammad Imran (13) and Bilawal Bhatti (0) before Ali Usman took a single. The next two balls yielded the wickets of top-scorer Mohammad Mohsin, who swatted the ball high enough for Irfan to hold a return catch before Ali Usman holed up to Kashif Bhatti in the deep.

Karachi Whites beat Peshawar to go top

A single came off the last ball when the 40-year-old former Pakistan spinner Zulfiqar Babar was on strike to prevent Irfan — who was the undisputed choice for the Rs50,000 man-of-the-match honours — taking hat-trick remarkably for the second time in the same over.

Mohsin scored 56 off just 32 balls with seven fours and one six while opener Sardar Hasan Raza struck a 33-ball 28 with two boundaries.

Samiullah Jr, who took a sickening blow on his head while fielding, regained his composure to play a substantial innings as Fata celebrated their first win after suffering two consecutive defeats upfront.

Samiullah contributed 58 off 49 balls while striking four fours and a brace of sixes before Fata got home with four deliveries left.

Zulfiqar and leg-spinner Mohammad Irfan Khan claimed two wickets each.

Multan’s first loss in three matches also triggered a dramatic change in the team standings because Karachi Whites stormed to the top by virtue of a 21-run success against Peshawar in the late afternoon fixture.

Former Pakistan skipper Sohaib Malik, now a regular member of the national ODI and T20 teams, produced a scintillating performance that guided Karachi Whites to 161-3 after Peshawar captain Imran Khan Sr chose to field first.

Malik bludgeoned 71 off mere 41 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes as the elegant right-hander anchored the innings brilliantly.

Khurram Manzoor also continued his excellent form in the tournament. The discarded Pakistan opener slammed seven boundaries in making 63 from 48 deliveries.

Peshawar made a decent response to the tough chase as Fawad Khan banged a quickfire 42 off 25 balls (four fours and three sixes) in the first-wicket partnership of 58 with Israrullah (30 off 32 balls, four boundaries).

But sadly for Peshawar both men were outfoxed by occasional leg-spin of Akbar-ur-Rehman with Malik taking their catches.

Thereafter only Raees Ahmed managed to play an innings of some note. He made 31 off 25 balls with four fours.

Seamer Arshad Iqbal was the standout Karachi Whites bowler with analysis of three for 17 in four overs. Akbar took 2-13 in three overs while slow left-armer Raza-ul-Hasan was tidy as ever as he snared 2-19 in four overs.

Malik was later named man-of-the-match.

Karachi Whites presently lead the standings on a superior net run-rate of +0.417 after winning two of their three games. Lahore Whites (+0.375), Multan (+0.062) and Rawalpindi (-0.008) also have won twice with fifth-placed Fata (-0.012), Islamabad (-0.067) and Peshawar (-0.470) occupying the next three places.

Defending champions Lahore Blues, who have won only one match, are currently bottom of the standings with a net run-rate of 0.514.

Saturday’s results:

Karachi Whites beat Peshawar by 21 runs.

KARACHI WHITES 161-3 in 20 overs (Shoaib Malik 71 not out, Khurram Manzoor 63); PESHAWAR 140 in 20 overs (Fawad Khan 40, Raees Ahmed 31, Israrullah 30; Arshad Iqbal 3-17, Akbar-ur-Rehman 2-13, Raza Hasan 2-19).

Fata beat Multan by five wickets.

MULTAN 136-9 in 20 overs (Mohammad Mohsin 56, Sardar Hasan Raza 28; Mohammad Irfan Jr 5-17, Asif Afridi 2-23); FATA 140-4 in 19.2 overs (Samiullah Jr 58; Zulfiqar Babar 2-21, Mohammad Irfan Khan 2-26).

Sunday’s fixtures: Karachi Whites vs Lahore Whites (11:00am); Multan vs Lahore Blues (3:00pm).

Published in Dawn, December 16th, 2018