KARACHI, March 27: An interesting battle is on the cards when Allied Bank Limited (ABL) take on Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) in the day/night semifinal of the NBP One-day Patron’s Cup at National Stadium on Friday.

The 50-overs a side match will start at 3.00pm.

In the quarterfinal on Tuesday, PIA drubbed Lahore Whites by 129 runs, largely due to a fantastic knock of 174 by skipper Moin Khan.

Moin, the former Pakistan captain, single handedly took airlines in the semifinals.

PIA are set to be strengthened by the inclusion of Test off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who was schedule to reach Karachi later on Thursday, manager-cum-coach Rashid Khan said.

PIA also have the services of Test batsman Faisal Iqbal in addition to veteran players Asif Mujtaba and Ghulam Ali.

Peshawar-born consistent batsman Yasir Hameed, who failed to get a place in the national team for Sharjah Cup, is another vital player for PIA. He struck a career best double hundred which helped PIA regained the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy earlier this year.

Talented paceman Umar Gul, who had been picked in the 16-member Sharjah-bound squad for the first time, will be opening the attack with fellow Peshawarite Fazle Akbar. Part-time medium-pacer Kamran Sajid will back them, followed by two Test spinners Saqlain Mushtaq and Shoaib Malik and the left-arm spin of Asif Mujtaba.

Allied Bank, meanwhile, easily beat Karachi Whites by six wickets in the other quarterfinal at UBL Sports Complex.

The bankers are fielding a team of youth and experience with four Test veterans in line up: Ijaz Ahmed Junior, Aaqib Javed, Arshad Khan and Wajahatullah Wasti. Then they have youngsters like Naved Latif, Humayun Farhat, Usman Tariq, Taimur Khan and Tanvir Ahmed.

Test umpires Riazuddin and Mian Aslam will supervise the match. Anwar Khan will be the match referee.—APP