LAHORE: Lahore Lions, one of the teams tipped for the title, are just one win shy of reaching the semi-finals of the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup after cruising to their fourth straight success here on Tuesday.

The Lions’ latest opponents were Islamabad Leopards, who crashed to their fourth consecutive defeat in Group ‘A’ as they went down by six wickets at the LCCA Ground.

While the Lions, who just need to brush aside minnows Quetta Bears on Wednesday to make the last-four stage, enjoyed another relatively easy game, Karachi Dolphins and Abbottabad Falcons both had to dig deep before winning against Lahore Eagles and Multan Tigers, respectively.

Faisalabad Wolves, meanwhile, sealed a hat-trick of wins when they overcame Rawalpindi Rams by 17 runs. The luckless Peshawar Panthers finally ended their run of three losses when they defeated Hyderabad Hawks by 44 runs, while Karachi Zebras coasted to a seven-wicket win over Quetta Bears.

The Leopards never got going against the rampaging Lions after Umar Gul decided to bat first. They ended up at 104-8 with experienced pace duo of Aizaz Cheema (3-16) and Wahab Riaz (3-17) almost proving unplayable in the morning fixture.

Ahmed Shehzad, anxious to impress the national selectors, then blasted seven fours and one six in making 56 from 45 balls as the Lions won with 31 deliveries to spare.

The Falcons, who the other day won on the penultimate ball against the Leopards, clinched another low-scoring cliffhanger, edging to a seven-run victory against Group ‘A’ rivals Multan Tigers at the Gaddafi Stadium.

The Falcons mustered an inadequate tally of 106-8 with skipper Younis Khan the only man cross the 20-run mark. Younis contributed 35 from 37 balls with one six and a four. Giant left-arm fast bowler Mohammad Irfan (3-17 in four overs), Kashif Naved (2-18 in four) and slow left-armer Zulfiqar Babar (2-21 in four) were wicket-takers for the Tigers.

But Tigers found going hazardous in their reply as they were restricted to 99-8. Naved Yasin’s run-a-ball 37 (four fours) and Zulfiqar’s 15 were the only double-figure scores in the innings. Ahmed Jamal claimed 4-21 in his four overs and Amjad Waqas took 2-15, but it was Test speedster Junaid Khan who kept the Tigers under pressure with 1-15 in four overs, including the final over.

The Zebras kept alive their slim hopes of reaching the semi-finals from Group ‘A’ after easing past the Bears’ total of 125-9 at the LCCA Ground by making 126-3 in the 18th over with opener Fahad Iqbal hitting an unbeaten 53 (51 balls, four fours).

Spinners Faraz Ahmed Khan (3-22) and Haris Ayaz (3-23) put the breaks on scoring after opener Mohibullah had made a 58-ball 44 for the Bears.

Ali Waqas slammed a 47-ball 53 with the aid of four boundaries and a brace of sixes, while Khurram Shehzad blasted three sixes in scoring 33 off 19 balls as the Wolves reached 148-8 in their 20 overs against the Rams in their Group ‘B’ clash at the Bagh-i- Jinnah.

Sohail Tanvir, the Rams captain, captured 3-23 and Yasir Arafat took 2-37.

Umar Amin continued his good form to strike 47 from 41 deliveries (four boundaries and one six) and Babar Naeem 25 (off 14 balls, four fours) but their efforts proved fruitless as the Rams were all out for 131 with the wickets once again being shared by Khurram Shehzad (2-25), Saeed Ajmal (2-21), Imran Khalid (1-17) and Asad Ali (3-27).

The Dolphins struggled to a tense three-wicket success after their off-spinners Atif Maqbool (3-20) and Misbah Khan (2-12) and captain Shahid Afridi (1-17) kept the Eagles down to 113-8 at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Barring Azhar Ali (24 off 29 balls, two fours) and Saad Nasim (28 not out off 21 balls, four boundaries), no batsman managed to break the shackles applied by the slow bowlers.

The Dolphins also found it difficult to score freely and even Afridi struggled in making a 21-ball 19 after Shahzaib Hasan (30 off 30 balls) and Fawad Alam 23 from 21 provided the base.

The Panthers’ much-awaited first victory in Group ‘B’ was set up by Nawaz Ahmed who struck nine boundaries in scoring 53 off 34 balls that helped his team reached 185-5 – which remarkably was the highest total of day four – against the Hawks at the Bagh-e-Jinnah.

Results: Lahore Lions beat Islamabad Leopards by six wickets at LCCA Ground.ISLAMABAD LEOPARDS 104-8 in 20 overs (Imad Wasim 20; Aizaz Cheema 3-16, Wahab Riaz 3-17, Adnan Rasool 2-16); LAHORE LIONS 105-4 in 14.5 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 56; Zohaib Ahmed 2-8).

Peshawar Panthers beat Hyderabad Hawks by 44 runs at Bagh-i-Jinnah.

PESHAWAR PANTHERS 185-5 in 20 overs (Nawaz Ahmed 53, Akbar Badshah 39 not out, Shoaib Khan 30, Iftikhar Ahmed 27); HYDERABAD HAWKS 141 in 20 overs (Kashif Bhatti 25, Aqeel Anjum 22; Azizullah 3-29, Zohaib Khan 2-23, Akbar Badshah 2-39).

Abbottabad Falcons beat Multan Tigers by seven runs at Gaddafi Stadium.

ABBOTTABAD FALCONS 106-8 in 20 overs (Younis Khan 35; Mohammad Irfan 3-17, Kashif Naved 2-18, Zulfiqar Babar 2-21); MULTAN TIGERS 99-9 in 20 overs (Naved Yasin 37; Ahmed Jamal 4-21, Amjad Waqas 2-15).

Karachi Zebras beat Quetta Bears by seven wickets at LCCA Ground.

QUETTA BEARS 125-9 in 20 overs (Mohibullah 44, Jalat Khan 25, Mir Wais 21; Faraz Ahmed Khan 3-22, Haris Ayaz 3-23, Rumman Raees Khan 2-32); KARACHI ZEBRAS 126-3 in 17.4 overs (Fahad Iqbal 53 not out, Faisal Iqbal 27 retired hurt, Saeed bin Nasir 23; Gohar Faiz 2-15).

Faisalabad Wolves beat Rawalpindi Rams by 17 runs at Bagh-i-Jinnah.

FAISALABAD WOLVES 148-8 in 20 overs (Ali Waqas 53, Khurram Shehzad 33; Sohail Tanvir 3-23, Yasir Arafat 2-37); RAWALPINDI RAMS 131 in 18.5 overs (Umar Amin 47, Babar Naeem 25, Jamal Anwar 21; Asad Ali 3-27, Saeed Ajmal 2-21, Khurram Shehzad 2-25).

Karachi Dolphins beat Lahore Eagles by three wickets at Gaddafi Stadium.

LAHORE EAGLES 113-8 in 20 overs (Saad Nasim 28 not out, Azhar Ali 24; Atif Maqbool 3-20, Misbah Khan 2-12); KARACHI DOLPHINS 115-7 in 18.4 overs (Shahzaib Hasan 30, Fawad Alam 23; Raza Ali Dar 3-16, Asif Raza 2-16).

Wednesday’s fixtures: Karachi Zebras v Abbottabad Falcons (LCCA Ground, 9:30am); Sialkot Stallions v Multan Tigers (Bagh-i-Jinnah, 9:30am); Faisalabad Wolves v Peshawar Panthers (Gaddafi Stadium, 12:00pm) Lahore Eagles v Bahawalpur Stags (LCCA Ground, 1:15pm); Lahore Lions v Quetta Bears (Bagh-i-Jinnah, 1:15pm); Rawalpindi Rams v Hyderabad Hawks (Gaddafi Stadium, 4:00pm).