Karachi Whites, who sent in, were bundled out for 163 in 48.4 overs despite skipper Arif Mahmood’s 50 off 81 deliveries. The burly all-rounder slammed six boundaries after coming to the crease with the Whites in tatters at 61 for five.
Arif and Shahid Iqbal, who made 38 off 60 balls with four fours, were involved in a sixth-wicket partnership worth 74.
Among top-order, only opener Maisam Hasnain managed to enter double-figures. He hit six fours in making 28 off 61 balls.
Pacer Waqas Chughtai claimed three for 25 while spinners Salman Fazal and Tabish Nawab chipped in with two wickets each, giving away 31 and 33 runs respectively.
Customs made a shaky start when they lost opener Shadab Kabir for a duck in the first over of the innings. Fellow left-handers Azhar Shafiq (25) and Kashif Siddique (17) had also perished with their side still 104 runs away from the target.
But skipper Aamir Bashir and the bearded left-handed Asim Kamal guided Customs home with both scoring unbeaten half-centuries.
Aamir Bashir struck exactly 50 off 107 balls with the aid of three fours while Asim stroked 57 off 99 deliveries. His knock was studded with four hits to the fence.
KARACHI WHITES:
Maisam Hasnain c Tabish b Azhar 28
Saqib Zia c Azhar b Waqas 3
Zeeshan Pervez c Asim b Waqas 0
M. Masroor c A. Iqbal b Nadeem 7
Fahadullah c Waqas b Salman 6
Shahid Iqbal c Asim b Waqas 38
Arif Mahmood c Aamir Iqbal b Tabish 50
Tahir Khan run out 6
Mohammad Hasnain c Kashif b Tabish 4
Farhan Iqbal not out 1
Irfanuddin c Nisar b Salman 2
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-4, W-11, NB-2) 18
TOTAL (all out, 48.4 overs) 163
FALL OF WKTS: 1-14, 2-18, 3-26, 4-45, 5-61, 6-135, 7-151, 8-156, 9-160.
BOWLING: Nadeem Javed 10-2-31-1; Waqas Chughtai 10-2-25-3; Aamir Bashir 5-2-11-0; Azhar Shafiq 2-0-10-1; Salman Fazal 9.4-0-31-2; Tabish Nawab 10-1-33-2; Nisar Abbas 1-0-9-0; Kashif Siddique 1-0-8-0.
PAKISTAN CUSTOMS:
Azhar Shafiq c Zeeshan b Tahir 25
Shadab Kabir c Fahad b Shahid 0
Kashif Siddique c and b Tahir 17
Aamir Bashir not out 50
Asim Kamal not out 57
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-11, NB-2) 15
TOTAL (for three wkts, 43.1 overs) 164
FALL OF WKTS: 1-3, 2-48, 3-61.
DID NOT BAT: Nisar Abbas, Aamir Iqbal, Nadeem Javed, Waqas Chughtai, Salman Fazal, Tabish Nawab.
BOWLING: Shahid Iqbal 4-0-20-1; Mohammad Hasnain 6-0-32-0; Tahir Khan 10-2-25-2; Arif Mahmood 10-1-29-0; Irfanuddin 10-0-37-0; Mohammad Masroor 3-0-15-0; Zeeshan Pervez 0.1-0-4-0.
RESULT: Pakistan Customs won by seven wickets.
UMPIRES: Akbar Khan and Iftikhar Malik.
MATCH REFEREE: Munawwar Agha.
Results of other Pool ‘A’ matches:
*PIA beat Rest of Sindh at Asghar Ali Shah Stadium, Karachi
PIA 298-6 in 50 overs (Faisal Iqbal 123, Ghulam Ali 74, Shoaib Malik 37, Moin Khan 28; Kashif Pervez 2-53);
REST OF SINDH 149 in 37.5 overs (Rizwan Qureshi 71, Khalid Hussain 27; Fazle Akbar 3-13, Shoaib Malik 2-32, Nadeem Khan 2-39).
*Bahawalpur beat Hyderabad by three wickets at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad
HYDERABAD 156 in 45.3 overs (Ayaz Taifi 73; Tahir Maqsood 4-26, Bilal Khilji 3-35);
BAHAWALPUR 158-7 in 48.3 overs (Asif Iqbal 49 not out, Bilal Khilji 26; Rizwan Ahmed 3-20).