KARACHI, Dec 21: Sindh Dolphins’ campaign in the RBS Pentangular Cup one-day tournament concluded on a dismal note on Sunday when Punjab Stallions flattened them by seven wickets here at the National Stadium.

The Dolphins, winning just one match in the tournament, had to beat the Stallions to stay in contention for a place in Wednesday’s final. But their hopes took a severe beating when they were dismissed for a measly 127 — the lowest total of the ongoing competition — after Shahid Afridi lost the all-important toss.

The Stallions strolled to their fourth straight win with more than 23 overs to spare when skipper Shoaib Malik scored the winning run at 2:28pm to end the one-sided contest so early.

The game was effectively over by the 12th over when the Dolphins nosedived to 42 for six as the batsmen committed one error after another and never

attempted to apply themselves. The only exception was perhaps Faisal Iqbal who was drawn

into edging a good-length delivery to Mohammad Talha to first slip.

Opener Khalid Latif’s miserable run in the tournament continued when he left a yawing gap in the second over and lost his off stump for four to the impressive Talha. Khalid made four and a duck in his previous two outings.

The in-form Khurram Manzoor also perished early, providing Umar Akmal, the makeshift wicket-keeper, an easy catch off the lanky left-arm seamer Sarfraz Ahmed.

Sarfraz Ahmed, the Dolphins’ wicket-keeper/batsman, was promoted in the order, but the move backfired when his namesake had him caught at the wicket for five.

Naumanullah struck a couple of fine boundaries in making 19, but failed to capitalize when Nasir Jamshed nabbed him at slip after dropping him over the previous delivery.

Faisal’s departure for four left the Dolphins in tatters. The last nail in the coffin arrived

a ball later when Afridi flick-

ed Talha straight to short midwicket to depart for a golden duck.

Fawad Alam and Anwar Ali added token respectability to the total by adding 43 for the seventh wicket. Anwar used the long handle to good effect to strike five fours and a six in making 35 off 32 balls.

Malik dismissed Azam Hussain with his first delivery of the match before ending Fawad’s patient 70-ball vigil at the crease by having the left-hander caught in the covers for 21.

Talha, the Man-of-the-Match, finished with four for 37 in 10 overs, while Sarfraz had two for 11 in eight economical overs and Malik two for seven.

And when the Stallions batted, Azhar Ali atoned his failings in the earlier games by remaining unbeaten with 51 (85 balls, five fours). But Nasir Jamshed was not so lucky and fell for 10. Salman Butt (27) and Adnan Raza (1) were both dismissed by spinner Azam.

Monday’s last league-round fixture between Federal Areas Leopards and the NWFP Panthers will decide who plays the unbeaten Stallions in the

final.

Scoreboard

SINDH DOLPHINS:

Khurram Manzoor c Umar b Sarfraz 2

Khalid Latif b Talha 4

Naumanullah c Nasir b Talha 19

Sarfraz Ahmed c Umar b Sarfraz 5

Faisal Iqbal c Nasir b Talha 4

Fawad Alam c Adnan b Malik 21

Shahid Afridi c Mansoor b Talha 0

Anwar Ali c Azhar b Junaid 35

Azam Hussain b Malik 5

Sohail Khan not out 12

Farhan Ayub c Mansoor b Rehman 0

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-15) 20

TOTAL (all out, 34.1 overs) 127

FALL OF WKTS: 1-4, 2-17, 3-33, 4-37, 5-42, 6-42, 7-85, 8-101, 9-127.

BOWLING: Sarfraz Ahmed 8-4-11-2; Mohammad Talha 10-3-37-4 (2w); Junaid Zia 6-1-20-1 (4w); Mansoor Amjad 5-0-35-0 (1w); Shoaib Malik 2-0-7-2; Abdur Rehman 3.1-0-12-1.

PUNJAB STALLIONS:

Nasir Jamshed c Sarfraz b Anwar 10

Azhar Ali not out 51

Salman Butt c and b Azam 27

Adnan Raza c Faisal b Azam 1

Shoaib Malik not out 26

EXTRAS (LB-8, W-4, NB-1) 13

TOTAL (for three wkts, 26.5 overs) 128

FALL OF WKTS: 1-17, 2-63, 3-78.

DID NOT BAT: Umar Akmal, Mansoor Amjad, Abdur Rehman, Junaid Zia, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Talha.

BOWLING: Anwar Ali 5-1-19-1 (1w); Sohail Khan 22-0; Azam Hussain 9-0-46-2 (1w); Farhan Ayub 3-0-13-0 (1nb, 2w); Shahid Afridi 2-0-15-0; Fawad Alam 1.5-0-5-0.

RESULT: Punjab Stallions won by seven wickets.

UMPIRES: Mian Aslam and Ahsan Raza.

TV UMPIRE: Ahmed Shahab.

MATCH REFEREE: Abdul Sami Khan.

MONDAY’S FIXTURE: Federal Areas Leopards v NWFP Panthers.