KARACHI, March 8: Karachi Dolphins kept alive their slim hopes of reaching the final of the ABN-Amro One-day Gold League Cup with a 96-run rout of outgoing Interloop Wolves Faisalabad at the National Stadium here on Thursday.
Batting first, the Dolphins amassed 297 for seven thanks to a blistering 65-ball unbeaten knock of 106 by Tariq Haroon, who struck 11 fours and three sixes.
Tariq dominated the seventh-wicket partnership of 110 with Atif Ali Zaidi, who made 52 off 82 balls with two boundaries.
Atif Maqbool was Dolphins’ other hero when Wolves batted. The off-spinner grabbed five for 21 in 7.4 overs as the former champions were bowled out for 201 in the 44th over. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq scored 54 off 65 balls.
In Saturday’s last-round fixture, the Dolphins not only need a big win over Rawalpindi Rams but also hope that Lahore Eagles defeat Peshawar Panthers. In that eventuality, all three teams — Dolphins, Eagles and Panthers — will have the same number of points (16). The qualifiers for the final against Sialkot Stallions will then be determined on net run-rate.
Scoreboard
KARACHI DOLPHINS:
Wajihuddin lbw b Faisal 27
Khalid Latif c Salman b Faisal 35
Wasim Naeem c sub b Imran 16
Naumanullah b Ali Raza 11
Fawwad Alam c and b Laeeq 17
Atif Ali Zaidi lbw b Laeeq 52
Tariq Haroon not out 106
Sarfraz Ahmed lbw b Ali Raza 14
Anwar Ali Khan not out 0
EXTRAS (LB-5, W-13, NB-1) 19
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 297
FALL OF WKTS: 1-50, 2-64, 3-91, 4-91, 5-134, 6-244, 7-296.
DID NOT BAT: Atif Maqbool, Uzair-ul-Haq.
BOWLING: Faisal Afridi 8-1-48-2 (2w); Ahmed Hayat 7-0-43-0; Ali Raza 8-1-40-2 (1nb); Imran Khalid 7-0-62-1 (4w); Mohammad Laeeq 10-0-42-2; Naved Latif 10-0-57-0 (2w).
INTERLOOP WOLVES FAISALABAD:
Abdul Mannan c Sarfraz b Atif 27
Ali Waqas c Khalid b Atif 48
Abid Hussain run out 20
Misbah-ul-Haq c Khalid b Atif 54
Naved Latif c Khalid b Nauman 3
Mohammad Laeeq lbw b Wasim 11
Mohammad Salman c Uzair b Wasim 12
Imran Khalid st Sarfraz b Fawwad 9
Ahmed Hayat c Uzair b Atif 0
Faisal Afridi b Atif 2
Ali Raza not out 0
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-3, W-10) 15
TOTAL (all out, 43.4 overs) 201
FALL OF WKTS: 1-77, 2-92, 3-110, 4-118, 5-143, 6-167, 7-197, 8-198, 9-200.
BOWLING: Anwar Ali Khan 7-0-27-0 (2w); Uzair-ul-Haq 4-0-29-0 (2w); Wasim Naeem 10-0-36-2; Tariq Haroon 1-0-9-0; Atif Maqbool 7.4-0-21-5 (3w); Naumanullah 8-1-37-1 (1w); Fawwad Alam 6-0-37-1.
RESULT: Karachi Dolphins won by 96 runs.
UMPIRES: Nadeem Ghauri and Siddique Khan.
MATCH REFEREE: Azhar Khan.
OFFICIAL SCORER: Syed Imran Ali.