KARACHI: Inspired by a brilliant innings from Ali Waqas, former champions Faisalabad Wolves cruised to a six-wicket win against Lahore Eagles in their Group ‘C’ clash of the AlBaraka Bank presents Haier T20 Cup here at the National Stadium on Wednesday.

Chasing 146 under lights, the Wolves accomplished their mission with eight balls to spare after the 24-year-old Ali had intelligently paced the chase in making 72, while usurping his previous T20 best score of 65 not out made for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited against Habib Bank at Lahore last December.

The stylish left-hander from Sargodha adorned his 53-ball knock, which earned the man-of-the-match award, with nine boundaries. After seeing Farrukh Shehzad (33 off 22 balls, five fours and one six) take advantage of the fielding restriction in the Powerplay overs in their opening stand of 58, Ali relished Misbah-ul-Haq’s calm presence.

Misbah, as usual expressed no sign of anxiety, and the well-set Ali added 66 in seven overs after Khurram Shehzad had been run out for two to put the result beyond. And although Zafar Gohar dismissed both of them in quick successions, the outcome was never in doubt as the Wolves stayed on target for the semi-finals while ending the Eagles’ aspirations at the same time.

Misbah made 26 from 21 balls with a six and a four as his major strokes.

Thursday could possibly decide whether the Wolves or Peshawar Panthers, who lead the five-team Group ‘C’ standings with three wins, would be progressing to the knockout stage.

After winning the toss and electing to field, the Wolves controlled the first half of the match. The Eagles only crept up to a fighting total chiefly because of a superb display from their youngest member of the team, Hussain Talat. The talented left-hander, who won’t be 18 until Dec 12, strode out with his side in bother at 52-3 in the 10th over.

Showing fine temperament despite his tender age, the Pakistan Under-19 player marked his seventh T20 appearance with an undefeated 46 off 33 balls while striking four boundaries and two sixes, including the second off paceman Asad Ali one on the penultimate ball of the innings.

Apart from Hussain, it was Sami Aslam who caught the eye by contributing 31 in a 29-ball knock featuring two fours and one six. Otherwise it was another tough evening for the senior men in the Eagles ranks as the line-up containing just one right-hander – debutant Imran Butt – .in the top six generally struggled.

The only partnership of note was provided by Talat and Test wicket-keeper Adnan Akmal (25 off 18, three boundaries) who together put on 42 in 29 balls.

Scoreboard

LAHORE EAGLES:

Imran Farhat c Ali Waqas b Talha 15

Taufiq Umar lbw b Khurram 10

Sami Aslam c Asif b Jahandad 31

Imran Butt c Misbah b Asad 8

Hussain Talat not out 46

Raza Ali Dar c Salman b Ehsan 0

Adnan Akmal b Asad 25

Zafar Gohar not out 2

EXTRAS (W-6, NB-2) 8

TOTAL (for six wkts, 20 overs) 145

FALL OF WKTS: 1-26, 2-30, 3-53, 4-83, 5-92, 6-134.

DID NOT BAT: Usman Qadir, Bilawal Iqbal, Zia-ul-Haq.

BOWLING: Ehsan Adil 4-0-26-1 Khurram Shehzad 4-0-24-1 (2w); Mohammad Talha 4-0-28-1 (2w); Asad Ali 4-0-28-2 (1nb, 2w) Imran Khalid 3-0-27-0; Jahandad Khan 1-0-11-0.

FAISALABAD WOLVES:

Farrukh Shehzad st Adnan b Usman 33

Ali Waqas c Taufiq b Zafar 72

Khurram Shehzad run out 2

Misbah-ul-Haq c Raza b Zafar 26

Imran Khalid not out 12

Asif Ali not out 1

EXTRAS 0

TOTAL (for four wkts, 18.4 overs) 146

FALL OF WKTS: 1-58, 2-65, 3-131, 4-138.

DID NOT BAT: Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Salman, Ehsan Adil, Mohammad Talha, Asad Ali.

BOWLING: Raza Ali Dar 4-0-18-0; Zia-ul-Haq 2-0-19-0; Bilawal Iqbal 1-0-15-0; Usman Qadir 4-0-24-1; Hussain Talat 4-0-33-0; Zafar Gohar 3.4-0-37-2.

RESULT: Faisalabad Wolves won by six wickets.

UMPIRES: Khalid Mahmood and Riazuddin.

TV UMPIRE: Asif Yaqoob.

MATCH REFEREE: Aziz-ur-Rehman.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Ali Waqas.

THURSDAY’S FIXTURES: Lahore Lions vs Bahawalpur Stags (9:00am); Faisalabad Wolves vs Peshawar Panthers (1:00pm); Lahore Eagles vs Islamabad Leopards (5:00pm).

Published in Dawn, September 25th , 2014