KARACHI, Dec 20: The NWFP Panthers cantered to an easy six-wicket victory over Balochistan Bears to revive their slim hopes of reaching the final of the RBS Pentangular Cup one-day tournament at the National Stadium here on Saturday.

After restricting the Bears to a paltry total of 152, the Panthers got home with more than 16 overs to spare, thanks to an unbeaten 75 from Riffatullah Mohmand, who was adjudged Man-of-the-Match.

With Punjab Stallions already through to Wednesday’s final and the Bears eliminated, there is a three-way tussle for the other finalists. If Sindh Dolphins beat the Stallions on Sunday, the Panthers will automatically find themselves out of contention regardless of the outcome of their game against Federal Areas Leopards on Monday.

After rain forced the abandonment of the Dolphins-Leopards tie on Friday, Saturday’s fixture was played in brilliant sunshine. Predictably, the team winning the toss had the advantage of utilising the heavy moisture underneath the pitch, which had remained under covers since Thursday evening.

Umar Gul, the fortunate skipper at the toss, promptly put the Bears in to bat. By the end of the second over, openers Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Khan Jr had both perished.

Saeed Anwar Jr (18) and Fahad Iqbal (25, five fours) added 46 before they departed in quick succession. However, Fahad soon returned to the field to act as a runner for Saeed bin Nasir, who was badly limping with a knee injury.

Despite his problems, Saeed bravely hung on long enough to emerge as the top-scorer for his side. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq also found the going tough. As long as these two were at the crease, the Bears had hopes of reaching a fighting total.

But once they were dismissed, after sharing the highest partnership of the entire match worth 63 runs, the rot set in. Slow left-armer Aslam Qureshi scalped both Misbah (29 off 42 balls, one four) and Saeed (37 off 54 balls, five boundaries) before finishing with an excellent return of 3-30 in 10 overs.

Of the remaining batsmen, only Kamran Hussain entered double figures as Umar (3-24 in 8.3 overs) came back to end the innings.

Although Nazar Hussain, the left-arm paceman, claimed three wickets, the target was never beyond the Panthers’ grasp as Riffatullah, the 32-year-old right-hander, stroked eight fours and two sixes in his 95-ball knock.

The only plus point for the Bears was Danish Kaneria’s impressive 10-over stint. He took one for 26, but could have more if the luck had not deserted him on several occasions.

Scoreboard

BALOCHISTAN BEARS:

Mohammad Hafeez c Zulfiqar b Sami 6

Shoaib Khan Jr c Aslam b Umar 0

Saeed Anwar Jr b Shakeel 18

Fahad Iqbal c Zulfiqar b Junaid 25

Saeed bin Nasir b Aslam 37

Misbah-ul-Haq c sub b Aslam 29

Kamran Hussain c Aamir b Umar 17

Gulraiz Sadaf run out 0

Yasir Ali c Zulfiqar b Umar 1

Nazar Hussain b Aslam 5

Danish Kaneria not out 5

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-3, NB-1) 9

TOTAL (all out, 42.3 overs) 152

FALL OF WKTS: 1-5, 2-8, 3-54, 4-57, 5-120, 6-126, 7-127, 8-136, 9-152.

BOWLING: Umar Gul 8.3-2-24-3 (1w); Samiullah Niazi 8-0-29-1 (1w); Shakeel-ur-Rehman 9-0-32-1 (1nb, 1w); Junaid Khan 7-0-32-1; Aslam Qureshi 10-1-30-3.

NWFP PANTHERS:

Asad Shafiq c Gulraiz b Nazar 7

Yasir Hameed c and b Nazar 34

Riffatullah Mohmand not out 75

Khurram Shahzad c Hafeez b Nazar 2

Aamir Sajjad b Kaneria 19

Zulfiqar Jan not out 5

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-3, NB-6) 14

TOTAL (for four wkts, 33.4 overs) 156

FALL OF WKTS: 1-16, 2-73, 3-75, 4-135.

DID NOT BAT: Aslam Qureshi, Umar Gul, Shakeel-ur-Rehman, Samiullah Niazi, Junaid Khan.

BOWLING: Kamran Hussain 2-0-7-0 (1w); Nazar Hussain 10-0-59-3 (6nb); Yasir Ali 6-0-34-0 (2w); Danish Kaneria 10-1-26-1; Mohammad Hafeez 4-0-12-0; Saeed Anwar Jr 1.4-0-13-0.

RESULT: NWFP Panthers won by six wickets.

UMPIRES: Mian Aslam and Ahmed Shahab.

TV UMPIRE: Ahsan Raza.

MATCH REFEREE: Naeem Ahmed.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Riffatullah Mohmand.

SUNDAY’S FIXTURE: Sindh Dolphins v Punjab Stallions.