RAWALPINDI: Ope­ning batter Khawaja Naf­ay smashed a fiery half century to anchor Mar­k­hors’ two-wicket win over a fighting Dolphins on the fourth day of the Cham­pions T20 Cup at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stad­ium on Tuesday.

Nafay’s 41-ball 68 spiced with four sixes and as ma­ny fours guided Mark­hors to overhaul the modest 129-run target in 18.5 overs to give them their second win in as many games.

The Misbah-ul-Haq mentored te­­a­m is now second with four points while Stallions are top of the table, also with four points from two mat­ches but have a superior net run-rate.

Nafay, the 22-year-old from Karachi, lifted his team from the early loss of Fakhar Zaman — who was out for nought — Mohammad Shahzad and Abdul Samad, adding 29 for the fourth wicket with skipper Iftikhar Ahmed who made five.

Dolphins spinner Qasim Akram dismissed Nafay leg-before and then two more wickets fell as they fought back but Mohammad Nawaz made sure the chase was completed with a cautious 19-ball 18 not out including two fours while Akif Javed hit the winning boundary.

Dolphins, who have now lost both their matches, were given an ideal start by fast bowler Sameen Gul who took three early wickets but other than him no bowler could stop the rampaging Markhors.

Earlier, sent into bat, Dolphins lost Sahibzada Farhan in the first over, without scoring. Moham­mad Akhlaq hit a 33-ball 40 studded with two sixes and three boundaries while Mirza Tahir Baig knocked 28-ball 29 with two sixes and a boundary

Dolphins were relying on vice-captain Qasim who scored 14 and experienced batter Umar Amin who managed just 11 as they slumped from 81-2 to 128-9. Nawaz grabbed 3-28 while pacer Akif finished with 2-33.

Scores in brief:

DOLPHINS 128-9 in 20 overs (Mohammad Akhlaq 40, Mirza Tahir Baig 29; Mohammad Nawaz 3-28, Akif Javed 2-33); MARKHORS 132-8 in 18.5 overs (Khawaja Nafay 68, Mohammad Nawaz 18 not out; Sameen Gul 3-23, Qasim Akram 2-11).

Published in Dawn, December 11th, 2024