Sialkot breeze to eight-wicket win

Sialkot Stallions 170 for 2 (Malik 62*, Sohail 55*) beat Karachi Dolphins 167 for 8 (Latif 81*, Hasan 4-33) by eight wickets. 

 

 SHOAIB MALIK Again Wins Pakistan Domestic T20

Sialkot Stallions defended their title of the Faysal Bank Super Eight Twenty20 Cup defeating Karachi Dolphins by an impressive margin of eight wickets here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

 Chasing a rather difficult target of 168, captain Shoaib Malik and Haris Sohail hit unbeaten half-centuries to help the Stallions complete the victory in 18.5 overs.

 Shoaib made 62 not out from 42 balls and Haris scored 55 not out off 48 balls as both added 119 runs for their unbeaten third wicket partnership after opener Imran Nazir’s breezy 20-ball innings of 41 with two towering sixes and six boundaries.

 Earlier, the Dolphins made 167 for eight after their captain Mohammad Sami won the toss and elected to bat first.

 Openers Shahzaib Hasan and Khalid Latif started aggressively to make 38 in only 2.5 overs before the latter went out for a breezy 30 from 12 balls. He hit four boundaries and a six.

 Then, Rameez Raja Junior was run out for four due to a misunderstanding with Khalid when the score reached 63 in 5.5 overs.

 However, Khalid Latif found a good partner in Asad Shafiq and both added 90 runs in 71 balls for the third wicket.

 But as soon Asad got out for 38, wickets started falling quickly as Khalid held one end together as the Dolphins lost six wickets for just 14 runs to finish at 167-8 in 20 overs.

 Khalid remained not out for 81 which he made off 59 balls with three sixes and seven fours.

 For the Stallions, left-arm spinner Raza Hasan captured four wickets for 33 runs. 

 For the final, 20,000-odd people thronged the Rawalpindi stadium, with its newly-renovated stands. There were a further 15,000 fans outside the stadium, doing their best to catch glimpses of the action. Adding to the importance of the occasion, was the presence of Pakistan's selectors and coach, Dav Whatmore. With the World Twenty20 being scheduled for later this year, the officials were at all the Super-Eight matches, keeping an eye on the talent on offer.

Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup 2011-12, semi-finals

Ansar century blasts Sialkot into final

 Shakeel Ansar smashed an unbeaten century as Sialkot Stallions brushed aside Peshawar Panthers by 40 runs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. It was 33-year old Ansar's first hundred in any format. Before this game, he had an average of 18.91 and a strike-rate of 107.58 from 25 Twenty20s. Today, Ansar cracked 12 boundaries in his 100 off 67 and added 158 for the second wicket along with Haris Sohail (69 off 45). The stand was the third-highest in T20s in Pakistan and lifted Sialkot to an imposing 197 for 1. The only wicket Sialkot lost was that of Imran Nazir with the score on 39 in the fourth over. Ansar and Haris shut Peshawar out of the game after that.

Peshawar never looked like challenging Sialkot after Abdur Rehman jolted them with three strikes in the space of nine deliveries. He trapped Israrullah lbw before bowling Rafatullah Mohmand and Zohaib Khan as Peshawar slipped to 62 for 4. Only Gauhar Ali resisted with a half-century but it wasn't enough to get Peshawar anywhere close to the target. Peshawar eventually ended on an underwhelming 157 for 8. 

Shahzaib Hasan's whirlwind 57 off 28 deliveries set up Karachi Dolphins' seven-wicket win over Lahore Lions at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. Shahzaib gave Karachi the start they needed in their chase of 168 as he put on 78 for the opening wicket with Khalid Latif (45 off 35) in just 6.4 overs. By the time Shahzaib was dismissed after smashing ten boundaries, the asking-rate had fallen to below seven runs an over. The Karachi middle order, led by Sheharyar Ghani and Asad Shafiq, brought up victory with an over to spare.

Lahore's score of 167 for 7 had been built with the help of contributions from Kashif Siddiq (48 off 35) and Nasir Jamshed (36 off 26). 

But their heavyweight middle order of Kamran and Umar Akmal and Abdul Razzaq could not capitalise on a strong position of 113 for 2 in the 12th over and Lahore eventually fell short of posting a stiffer target. 

The final between Sialkot and Karachi will be played tomorrow at 7 pm local time in Rawalpindi.