LAHORE: Rawalpindi Rams, while demonstrating never-say-die attitude, engineered a sensational comeback to topple Misbah-ul-Haq’s Faisalabad Wolves in the Super Over to top Group ‘B’ in the third Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Friday.

Hammad Azam, seldom given opportunities to play international cricket for the best part of last two years, chose the right moment to exhibit his qualities as an all-round player as he first enabled the Rams to set a tricky chase for the Wolves with a superlative knock of 66 that lifted the total to 143.

The 22-year-old then eased the tension in the team’s dugout by pulling Samiullah Khan Niazi’s first ball in the one-over eliminator over midwicket for a massive six.

Needing 10, the Rams sealed the top-spot finish when Man-of-the-Match Hammad and Umar Amin took a bye off the last ball to set their semi-final meeting with holders Sialkot Stallions on Saturday night after the Wolves take on Lahore Lions in the first semi-final earlier the same day for a place in Sunday’s final.

The Super Over conclusion was dramatic after it seemed the Wolves would easily chalk up their third win in the pool with Misbah carrying on in virtually the same vein as he did against Karachi Dolphins on Thursday. The Wolves captain followed his memorable unbeaten 85 off 47 balls 24 hours earlier with another controlled innings as he helped himself to 42 from 34 deliveries. The two sixes the ex-Pakistan Twenty20 captain struck in this game took his tally to 71 in 90 T20 matches. Misbah’s knock also included two fours.

Demoting himself in the order in a bid to let others have a bat ahead of the knockout stage, Misbah kept his team on track before the Rams bounced back brilliantly to tie the match when the Wolves’ skipper was run out while attempting a second run on the final ball of the game.

The selection of Akhtar Ayub proved a shrewd move by the Rams’ think tank. The former Pakistan Under-19 fast bowler bowled intelligently to claim the wickets of opener Farrukh Shehzad (24) and Jahandad Khan (2) before holding his nerve in the last over in which he conceded just six runs.

But it was Hammad who stole the limelight with the bat earlier after Rams’ captain Sohail Tanvir, who took the responsibility on his shoulders to bowl the Super Over, chose to bat first.

Hammad, with a highest score of 37 in the previous 31 Twenty20 matches, justified his promotion to No 5 with some audacious strokes as he blasted eight boundaries and three sixes during his 35-ball innings before falling to Ehsan Adil on the last ball of the innings.

At the time of filing this report, the tournament’s last preliminary round fixture between Karachi Dolphins and Bahawalpur Stags was in progress with both outfits already eliminated.

Scoreboard

RAWALPINDI RAMS: Awais Zia c Khurram b Imran    17 Naved Malik c Imran b Khurram    4 Jamal Anwar c Salman b Asad    19 Umar Amin c Khurram b Samiullah    10 Hammad Azam b Ehsan    66 Sohail Tanvir c Jahandad b Samiullah    3 Mohammad Nawaz c Samiullah b Ehsan    3 Umar Waheed b Samiullah    9 Yasir Arafat run out    7 Yasim Murtaza run out    1 Akhtar Ayub not out    1 EXTRAS (B-1, LB-2)    3 TOTAL (all out, 20 overs)    143 FALL OF WKTS: 1-9, 2-32, 3-44, 4-63, 5-72, 6-76, 7-98, 8-130, 9-131. BOWLING: Khurram Shehzad 4-0-13-1 (1w); Imran Khalid 4-0-35-1 (1w); Ehsan Adil 4-0-36-2; Samiullah Khan Niazi 4-0-22-3; Asad Ali 4-0-36-1.

FAISALABAD WOLVES: Farrukh Shehzad b Akhtar    24 Ali Waqas run out    23 Asif Ali c Jamal b Sohail    29 Jahandad Khan c Jamal b Akhtar    2 Misbah-ul-Haq run out    42 Khurram Shehzad not out    10 EXTRAS (LB-3, W-8, NB-2)    13 TOTAL (for five wkts, 20 overs)    143 FALL OF WKTS: 1-47, 2-53, 3-61, 4-119, 5-143. DID NOT BAT: Imran Khalid, Mohammad Salman, Ehsan Adil, Samiullah Khan Niazi, Asad Ali. BOWLING: Sohail Tanvir 4-0-17-1 (5w); Yasir Arafat 4-0-37-0 (1nb, 2w); Umar Amin 2-0-24-0; Awais Zia 1-0-6-0; Yasim Murtaza 4-0-29-0 (1w); Akhtar Ayub 4-0-20-2; Hammad Azam 1-0-7-0. RESULT: Match tied (Rams 10-1 beat Wolves 9-1 in one-over eliminator) UMPIRES: Ahsan Raza and Saqib Khan. TV UMPIRE: Ghaffar Kazmi. MATCH REFEREE: Khateeb Rizwan. MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Hammad Azam.