Faisal Bank T20 Cup 2013
Three matches were decided on Thursday in the Faysal Bank Super 8 T-20 Cup, where Lahore Lions beat Abbottabad Falcons, Faisalabad Wolves beat Karachi Dolphins and Rawalpindi Rams beat Bhawalpur Stags.
In the first match of the day Abbottabad Falcons won the toss and elected to bat, but the decision was proved wrong by some steady Lahore bowling and bad shot selection by the batsmen.
They were only able to post a mere 94 on the board as Adnan Rasool never let them settle with 4-21.
Lahore Lions got to the target with 3 overs to spare but lost 7 wickets in the process. Ahmed Shehzad did the bulk of the scoring with 34 off 27 balls.
Rashid Nawaz bowled well for the Falcons with 4-12 to give Lions a scare.
In another match Faisalabad Wolves beat Karachi Dolphins by 7 wickets.
The Dolphins won the toss and chose to bat. 157 looked like a decent enough total with some good bowlers in the Karachi team.
Shahzaib Hasan with 51 off 39 balls and Khurram Manzoor 42 off 31 balls were the main scorers.
Khurram Shenzad and Ehsan Adil took 3 wickets each.
As the Wolves started their innings none of the Karachi bowlers could trouble the batsmen and they reached the target in the penultimate over losing only 3 wickets. Pakistan skipper Misbah ul Haq was ruthless in the chase as he plundered 6x4s and 5x6s for his 85 off just 47 balls. Waqas Ali also got 39.
Misbah was later adjudged player of the match.
In the last match of the day Sohail Tanvir's all-round performance led Rawalpindi Rams to a 20-run victory over Bahawalpur Stags in a rain-affected match. Rawalpindi were put in to bat first in overcast conditions. Naved Malik (29 off 24) and Awais Zia (26 off 13 balls) put on 43 runs for the first wicket. Bilal Khilji (3-24) snapped two quick wickets to slow them down, but Umar Waheed's run-a-ball 20, and Sohail Tanvir's 28 off 16 balls helped Rawalpindi post an imposing total.
Bahawalpur lost wickets regularly in reply. Besides Imranullah Aslam (15) and Kashif Siddiq (45), no other batsman scored in double figures.
Seamer Hammad Azam was the most productive bowler for Rawalpindi, taking three wickets, as Bahawalpur were eventually bowled out for 96.
