KARACHI, Dec 18: Young opening batsman Khurram Manzoor stroked a superb unbeaten century to engineer a much-needed first victory for the Sindh Dolphins in the RBS Pentangular Cup one-day tournament fixture against the NWFP Panthers at the National Stadium here on Thursday.
On a dull day when the sun appeared scarcely, the overcast conditions resembled more like the English weather with threats of rain always on the horizon. During the course of the run-chase, the floodlights were switched on as the natural light deteriorated.
In such conditions, batting was never going to be easy keeping in mind the Dolphins were chasing 235. But Khurram defied the odds to play one of the best innings in the ongoing competition with an unblemished 107 (136 balls, 10 boundaries) as the Dolphins overcame an edgy start – with just 18 runs being scored in the first 10 overs – to win by five wickets with five overs to spare.
Khalid Latif, Khurram’s opening partner, yet again disappointed in second straight first-over when he was bowled off his bat for a third-ball duck, foolishly opting to glide an Umar Gul delivery that was too close to his body.
And when Naumanullah was trapped plumb in front by left-armer Samiullah Niazi in the sixth over, the Panthers thought they could defend their modest total.
But Man-of-the-Match Khurram and Faisal Iqbal calmly and assuredly put an end to such a philosophy in a splendid partnership of 159 in 174 balls. Faisal must be kicking himself for missing out on a century which was there for the taking.
Faisal, who had earlier excelled in the field with a Jonty Rhodes-style catch above his head to dismiss Asad Shafiq, trudged off the field after offering a simple catch to wicket-keeper Zulfiqar Jan while trying to glide paceman Junaid Khan towards the third man region. Nonetheless, Faisal’s 83 (87 deliveries, 10 fours and one six) played a key role in making sure the Dolphins avoid a repeat of that heartbreaking one-wicket loss against Balochistan Bears last Sunday.
With light drizzle, Shahid Afridi was no mood to allow the match to be decided by the Duckworth/Lewis method. The Dolphins captain bludgeoned a brace of sixes in a quickfire 25 off 13 balls to take his team closer to their goal.
Earlier, Yasir Hameed was the mainstay for the Panthers, who were asked to bat first on a pitch containing fair bit of moisture. The skipper survived a chance on 34 – Afridi dropping a slip catch off slow left-armer Azam Hussain – to top-score with a fine 97 off 131 balls. Yasir, who slammed eight fours and one six, and Aamir Sajjad (48 off 63 balls, two fours) put on 73 for the fourth wicket.
Sohail Khan, the tall paceman, utilized the conditions to good effect to claim three for 32 in his 10 overs.
Scoreboard
NWFP PANTHERS:
Yasir Hameed c Nauman b Sohail 97
Asad Shafiq c Faisal b Anwar 12
Riffatullah Mohmand b Anwar 2
Khurram Shahzad lbw b Afridi 25
Aamir Sajjad lbw b Farhan 48
Umar Gul lbw b Sohail 13
Akbar Badshah c Afridi b Farhan 10
Zulfiqar Jan run out 9
Aslam Qureshi b Sohail 4
Samiullah Niazi not out 2
Junaid Khan not out 0
EXTRAS (LB-8, W-4) 12
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 234
FALL OF WKTS: 1-36, 2-40, 3-106, 4-179, 5-200, 6-217, 7-217, 8-232, 9-233.
BOWLING: Sohail Khan 10-1-32-3; Anwar Ali 9-1-50-2 (2w); Farhan Ayub 10-0-42-2 (1w); Shahid Afridi 10-0-52-1 (1w); Azam Hussain 8-0-35-0; Fawad Alam 3-0-15-0.
SINDH DOLPHINS:
Khurram Manzoor not out 107
Khalid Latif b Umar Gul 0
Naumanullah lbw b Sami 3
Faisal Iqbal c Zulfiqar b Junaid 83
Shahid Afridi c Yasir b Sami 25
Fawad Alam run out 0
Sarfraz Ahmed not out 7
EXTRAS (LB-6, W-3, NB-1) 10
TOTAL (for five wkts, 45 overs) 235
FALL OF WKTS: 1-1, 2-8, 3-167, 4-214, 5-214.
DID NOT BAT: Anwar Ali, Azam Hussain, Farhan Ayub, Sohail Khan.
BOWLING: Umar Gul 7-2-22-1 (1w); Samiullah Niazi 10-1-34-2 (1nb); Junaid Khan 10-0-65-1 (1w); Aslam Qureshi 10-0-55-0; Akbar Badshah 4-0-24-0; Riffatullah Mohmand 3-0-25-0; Khurram Shahzad 1-0-4-0.
RESULT: Sindh Dolphins won by five wickets.
UMPIRES: Iqbal Butt and Zameer Haider.
TV UMPIRE: Saleem Badar.
MATCH REFEREE: Khalid Niazi.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Khurram Manzoor
FRIDAY’S FIXTURE: Sindh Dolphins v Federal Areas Leopards.