Afridi inspires Dolphins to easy win over Leopards

KARACHI : Captain Shahid Afridi led from the front with a commanding all round performance to inspire Karachi Dolphins to an easy eight-wicket victory over Islamabad Leopards in a day-night match in the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup here at the National Stadium on Thursday.Chasing 132, Karachi Dolphins completed the victory in 13.3 overs for the loss of only two wickets in their first match in the tournament.Shahid Afridi, opening the innings with Sahhzaib Hasan (21), hammered 58 off 32 balls with six brilliant fours and two towering sixes.Karachi Dolphins were 26 runs away from victory when Afridi departed after adding 70 runs along with Rameez Raja (2) for the second wicket partnership.Then Raja and Asad Shafiq took 17 balls to reach the target and both remained not out on 36 and 10, respectively.Earlier, Shahid Afridi and his bowlers through their accurate bowling restricted Islamabad Leopards to 131-9 in the allotted 20 overs.Main scorers were Afaq Rahim (22), Moed Ahmed (21) and Nauman Masood (20).Winning the toss, Islamabad leopards captain Rao Iftikhar Anjum decided to bat first but his batsmen could not resist against Karachi Dolphins attack, particularly leg-breaks and googlies by skipper Shahid Afridi, who captured three wickets for 20 runs.

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Karachi Dolphins restrict Islamabad Leopards to 131-9

KARACHI : Captain Shahid Afridi and his bowlers through their accurate bowling restricted Islamabad Leopards to 131-9 in a day-night match in the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup here at the National Stadium on Thursday.Winning the toss, Islamabad leopards captain Rao Iftikhar Anjum decided to bat first but his batsmen could not resist against Karachi Dolphins attack. particularly leg-breaks and googlies by skipper Shahid Afridi, who captured three wickets for 20 runs. For Islamabad leopards, main scorers were Afaq Rahim (22), Moed Ahmed (21) and Nauman Masood (20).Now, Karachi Dolphins who are playing their first match in the tournament require 132 runs to win.

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Faisalabad Wolves throw Afghan Cheetas out of T20 Cup

KARACHI : Surviving some anxious time, Faisalabad Wolves defeated Afghan Cheetas by 13 runs to grab their second win in group "B" in the National T20 Cup Cricket Tournament at National Stadium on Thursday evening. Afghan Cheetas were well placed after 15 overs with 35 required in the last five overs. But three superb run-outs and tight bowling by Faisalabad bowlers restricted the visitors to 132-9 in 20 overs.Chasing 146 for victory, Gulbodin Naib gave Afghan Cheetas a great start with whirlwind knock of 62 in 42 balls with ten delightful boundaries and two massive sixes. But with his departure Wolves gained the control.Wicketkeeper Muhammad Salman, who toured West Indies with the Pakistan team earlier, top-scored with 26-ball 32 with four boundaries after they won the toss and elected to bat first.Opener Asif Hussain belted four boundaries in his 23-ball 30 as Faisalabad Wolves made 145-8 in 20 overs. Skipper Misbah struggled for 16 in 17 with a solitary boundary. With their second successive defeat Afghan Cheetas were knocked out of the race.Afghan team will take on Multan Tigers on Friday noon.

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Hafeez to undergo minor surgery

KARACHI :  Sept. 29 (APP)- Pakistan opening batsman Muhammad Hafeez,who had a grand tour of Zimbabwe has been ruled out of National T20 Cup as he will be undergoing minor surgery.Hafeez' cyst on his chest requires surgery. "It's a minor surgery, nothing serious, but he (Hafeez) opted to skip the Twenty20 as precaution," a PCB spokesman said. "He has very less time ahead of the Sri Lanka series (the first Test begins on October 18 in Abu Dhabi), which is followed by Bangladesh and England series. So it's the ideal time for him to undergo surgery," he said. Hafeez was in prime form with bat and ball during Pakistan's recent tour of Zimbabwe, scoring 467 runs and taking 13 wickets, with four Man-of-the-Match awards and two centuries

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PCB shortlists five candidates for coaching position

KARACHI : The committee formed to hire a new coach for the national cricket team held its second meeting,37 individuals had applied for the position out of which 12 were international applicants. According to committee chairman Intikhab Alam five candidates were shortlisted however he refused to reveal their names to the media. Alam said that an interim coach will appointed for Pakistan’s series against Sri Lanka.

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Rawalpindi Rams defeat Multan Tigers in T20 cup

KARACHI : Fast-medium bowler Mohammad Rameez, capturing four wickets for 24 runs with a hat-trick  the first in the tournament – guided Rawalpindi Rams to a five- wicket victory over Multan tigers on the fifth day of the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup here at the National Stadium on Thursday.Chasing 152, Rawalpindi Rams achieved the target with eight balls to spare. Their main contributors were Awais Zia (52) and Tahir Mughal (37).Earlier, Multan Tigers made 151 runs for nine wickets in the allotted 20 overs after their captain Shabbir Ahmed won the toss and decided to bat first in the first match of the day.Only four batsmen could get into double figures as other batsmen faced difficulty to play against the Rawalpindi Rams bowlers.Rameez, the hat-trick boy, was later adjudged the man-of-the-match. He was supported by Samiullah and Yasin Murtaza who claimed two wickets each.Ansar Javed (35 not out), Gulraiz Sadaf (35) and Kamran Hussain (32) were the main scorers for Multan Tigers

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Ajmal helps Wolves devour Tigers

KARACHI : Test off-spinner Saeed Ajmal bowled an outstanding spell to guide Faisalabad Wolves to an emphatic 54-run victory against Multan Tigers in their Faysal Bank T20 match at the National Stadium Karachi here on Wednesday.Ajmal was in full as he picked up three wickets for just five runs as the Tigers were restricted 107-7 in 20 overs while chasing 162.Wicketkeeper-batsman Gulraiz Sadaf scored 32, hitting a six and four boundaries, but failed to save his team from a big loss. Exciting left-hander Zain Abbas was also not at his blistering best and made a 27-ball 28. Imran Khalid bowled splendidly, picking up two wickets.Earlier, a 57-run opening stand between Asif Hussain (25) and Asif Ali (44) laid a solid platform for Wolves to post a big total. But Wolves failed to capatilise on it and could only managed 161-8 in their allotted overs and that too with the help of 30 extras. Khurram Shezad made 43. Allrounder Kamran Hussain bagged two wickets. In the first match of the day, Nauman Habib and Test fast bowler Umar Gul shared seven wickets between them to help Peshawar Panthers beat Islamabad Leopards in Group ‘D’ opener.Set a target of 151, Leopards were reduced to 4-18 in four overs before being finally bowled out for 122 in 19.3 overs. Naeem Anjum top-scored with a 41-ball 40 to save his side from a colossal defeat, while Afaq Raheem made a fluent 32. Nauman took four wickets with Umar Gul bagging three.Earlier, Panthers posted a total of 150 for nine in 20 overs. Aftab Alam played an anchor role making 36 off 33 balls with a six and two fours. Zohaib Ahmed claimed three wickets.On Tuesday night, Sialkot Stallions set a semifinal date with Lahore Eagles after they edged-out Lahore Lions with a six-wicket win in a low-scoring Group ‘C’ tie.Lions chose to bat first and were put on back-foot by left-arm medium pace Sarfraz Ahmed, as he removed the dangerous Kamran Akmal (5) and Ahmed Shehzad (22) early on.Lions had no answer against Stallions’ impressive bowling attack, which was bolstered by the return of Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed and Naved Arif (all were missing in the Super-Eight T20 event). In addition, Raza Hasan who played for Rawalpindi Rams’ was recalled to represent his native Sialkot side.Meanwhile, apart from Lions’ skipper Abdul Razzaq (42) no one was able to rise to the occasion. They were all out for 121 in 19.4 overs.Rana Naved bagged three wickets, while Raza Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed and Abdur Rehman picked up two scalps each.In reply, Stallions chased down the target with six wickets in hand and five balls to spare. Shahid Yousuf (47) and wicketkeeper Shakeel Ansar (42) both played sensible knocks to guide their side to victory.

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