KARACHI, Dec 22 Federal Areas Leopards displayed cool temperament to sneak into the final of the RBS Pentangular Cup one-day tournament by the narrowest of margins at the National Stadium here on Monday.
Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal two wickets in a dramatic final over of an electrifying last preliminary-round fixture, which thus far turned out to be the best match of the competition, to deny the NWFP Panthers victory by a single run, and to propel the Leopards into Wednesday's final against the Punjab Stallions.
In a game that ebbed and flowed many times, the Shoaib Akhtar-led Leopards held their nerves in those crucial last moments to pull off a victory from the jaws of defeat.
The Panthers, needing just two runs from the last two overs while chasing 266, were firm favourites to make the final with a well-set Khurram Shahzad still at the crease. But Shoaib bowled a magnificent penultimate over to tail-ender Samiullah Niazi, who somehow managed to survive six dot balls.
With the other pacemen having already completed their quotas, Shoaib trusted Saeed for the decisive last over with the clear instructions to bowl around the off-stump area.
Saeed obliged his captain on the second delivery when Khurram (61 off 80 balls, four fours) missed an attempted sweep was adjudged leg-before-wicket by umpire Ahmed Shahab, who deliberated for a while before raising the finger.
Two balls later, the Leopards were celebrating when last man Junaid Khan was brilliantly stumped by the ever-alert wicket-keeper Mohammad Salman off a doosra, a delivery that Saeed bowls so well.
Earlier in the Panthers innings, a similar delivery got rid of Riffatullah Mohmand, who was caught behind for a 65-ball 56 that was studded with seven boundaries.
The Panthers made an electrifying start to their target with Yasir Hameed hitting boundaries at will, slamming eight fours and one six in making 50 off 37 balls. The opener was particularly severe on Shoaib, who conceded 44 in his opening five-over spell. But the ace speedster was extremely unlucky when he saw Raheel Majeed, (fielding in the deep) and Afaq Raheem (leg gully) giving Yasir two lives in the same over.
However, Yasir's luck finally ran out when Rao Iftikhar, replacing Shoaib, won an LBW verdict from umpire Ahsan Raza in his very first over. The paceman also dismissed Aamir Sajjad and Zulfiqar Jan to finish with three for 48 — an effort that forced match referee Abdul Sami Khan to adjudge him and Saeed Ajmal joint recipients of the Man-of-the-Match award.
Apart from Saeed and Rao, Shoaib also played a big part in his team's success when he uprooted Umar Gul's middle stump at a crucial phase in the game after the Panthers skipper had almost settled the match by smashing 30 off 24 balls (three fours and one six).
In the first period of play after losing the toss, the Leopards launched their innings on a solid footing with openers Raheel Majeed and Babar Naeem adding 65 in 14 overs.
Raheel (32 off 52 balls, four fours) fell to left-arm seamer Samiullah Niazi before Babar and fellow left-hander Umar Amin together put on 79 until Nawaz unseated both of them.Nawaz was an unexpected revelation in his first game of the tournament, having come in for the unfit paceman Shakeel-ur-Rehman. The 22-year-old, who is more of a batsman, used the conditions very well to wobble the ball around.
Babar, who had looked in great touch as he stroked seven fours and one six in scoring 71 off 80 deliveries, was trapped in front.
Umar (34 off 44 balls, three fours) and Afaq Raheem (16) were both caught off Nawaz, who eventually ended with three for 44 in 10 overs.
Usman Saeed, playing for the first time in the competition, anchored the innings well to score 44 off 55 balls, while striking a solitary boundary. During the break for innings, few had ideas how valuable Usman's contribution would be.
Scoreboard
FEDERAL AREAS LEOPARDS
Raheel Majeed c Nawaz b Sami 32
Babar Naeem lbw b Nawaz 71
Umar Amin c Zulfiqar b Nawaz 34
Afaq Raheem c sub (Wajid) b Nawaz 16
Usman Saeed c Riffatullah b Sami 44
Mohammad Salman c Zulfiqar b Junaid 11
Sohail Tanvir b Junaid 0
Yasir Arafat run out 12
Shoaib Akhtar c Junaid b Umar 17
Rao Iftikhar not out 7
Saeed Ajmal run out 0
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-8, W-11, NB-1) 21
TOTAL (all out, 49.5 overs) 265
FALL OF WKTS 1-65, 2-144, 3-145, 4-166, 5-191, 6-191, 7-206, 8-240, 9-256.
BOWLING Umar Gul 10-0-51-1 (2w); Samiullah Niazi 9.5-1-50-2 (1nb, 2w); Junaid Khan 10-0-42-2 (2w); Aslam Qureshi 8-0-56-0
(1w); Khurram Shahzad 2-0-13-0; Nawaz Ahmed 10-0-44-3 (2w).
NWFP PANTHERS
Adnan Raees c Afaq b Sohail 23
Yasir Hameed lbw b Rao Iftikhar 50
Riffatullah Mohmand c Salman b Saeed 56
Nawaz Ahmed b Yasir 12
Aamir Sajjad lbw b Rao Iftikhar 6
Khurram Shahzad lbw b Saeed 61
Zulfiqar Jan c Salman b Rao Iftikhar 12
Umar Gul b Shoaib 30
Aslam Qureshi run out 1
Samiullah Niazi not out 3
Junaid Khan st Salman b Saeed 0
EXTRAS (LB-6, W-3, NB-1) 10
TOTAL (all out, 49.4 overs) 264
FALL OF WKTS 1-35, 2-78, 3-107, 4-126, 5-169, 6-209, 7-249, 8-254, 9-264.
BOWLING Shoaib Akhtar 10-2-59-1; Sohail Tanvir 10-0-63-1 (1nb, 2w); Rao Iftikhar 10-0-48-3; Yasir Arafat 10-0-47-1; Saeed Ajmal 9.4-0-41-3 (1w).
RESULT Federal Areas Leopards won by one run.
UMPIRES Ahmed Shahab and Ahsan Raza.
TV UMPIRE Mian Aslam.
MATCH REFEREE Abdul Sami Khan.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH Saeed Ajmal and Rao Iftikhar (shared).
WEDNESDAY'S FINAL Punjab Stallions v Federal Areas Leopards.