Asad, Akbar slam centuries to set up Karachi Whites win

KARACHI: Skipper Asad Shafiq and Akbar-ur-Rehman blasted fine centuries to enable Karachi Whites record their second successive win when they overwhelmed Rawalpindi by seven wickets in their second round high-scoring outing of the National One-day Cup for Regions at the KRL Ground in Rawalpindi on Saturday.

Asad blasted 140 off 110 balls and Akbar slammed 114 off 141 deliveries to help Karachi Whites achieve the 301-run target with seven balls to spare after losing three wickets in the process. The duo added 224 for the second wicket partnership.

Asad hammered 14 fours and three sixes for his eighth hundred in the list A career. Akbar smashed eight fours and a six in his sixth List A century.

Fawad Alam remained not out on 33-ball 34 which carried two fours. After being invited to bat first, Rawalpindi posted 300-7 in the stipulated 50 overs. Naved Malik top-scored with 83 off 102 balls, hitting 11 fours in his brilliant knock. Naved shared 104 for the opening stand with Test cricketer Azhar Ali who chipped in with 67-ball 47 which contained five fours and one six.

Test cricketer Iftikhar Ahmed (61) and left-handed young batsman Saud Shakeel (54) also batted well. Iftikhar smashed eight fours from 46 deliveries, while Saud banged four fours from 55 balls he faced. Left-arm Test pacer Rahat Ali was the main destroyer as he captured 4-55.

Meanwhile, Misbah-ul-Haq-led Faisalabad notched their first win when they bulldozed Islamabad by ten wickets thanks to fine unbeaten centuries from openers Abdul Samad and Zain Abbas.

Samad smashed 143-ball 130 not out and left-handed Zain chipped in with 112 not out to enable Faisalabad race to the 248-run target in 45.5 overs. Samad hit ten fours and two sixes, while Zain hammered nine fours in his mature knock.

Earlier, right-arm medium pacer Mohammad Imran (4-41) and spinner Ahmed Saifi (2-42) bowled well to restrict Islamabad to 247-8 in the allotted 50 overs. Faizan Riaz (68) and Abid Ali (54) hit fine fifties. Faizan, who clobbered seven fours from 82 balls, put on 70 runs for the opening partnership with Test cricketer Shan Masood (35). Abid struck seven fours and one six in his 74-ball knock. Experienced Shahid Yousuf hammered 43-ball 49 with six boundaries.

At Pindi Stadium Rawalpindi, Lahore Blues outclassed Peshawar by 81 runs.

After being invited to bat first, Lahore Blues were bowled out for 324 with Test opener Sami Aslam smacking 120 off 126 balls. The left-hander hit eight fours and three sixes in his solid knock.

Highly experienced left-handed batsman Reza Ali Dar hit a quick-fire 20-ball 40 not out which had three sixes and the same number of fours.

Skipper Kamran Akmal made 33-ball 34 with five fours and one six. Bilawal Iqbal, who is a young pacer, belted 22-ball 28 not out in the end which featured three fours and one six.

Pacer Azizullah (2-61) and left-arm spinner Zohaib Khan (2-69) were the successful bowlers.

In response, Peshawar were restricted to 243-9 with Zohaib Khan making unbeaten 71 off 95 balls which was laced with six fours and three sixes.

Left-handed opener Israrullah chipped in with 52-ball 45 which contained five fours and two sixes. Off-spinner Salman Ali Agha got 3-48. Test discard Aizaz Cheema (2-19) and Raza Ali Dar (2-42) also showed their worth with the ball.

At National Ground Islamabad, the outing between Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and Lahore Whites ended in a tie with both the sides sharing one point each.

Chasing 237, Lahore Whites were also restricted to 236-9 in 50 overs.

Mohammad Irfan hit 60-ball 63 which contained four fours and two sixes. Rizwan Hussain chipped in with 37-ball 39 which had six fours and one six.

Left-arm spinner Khushdil Shah got 4-39. Asif Afridi claimed 3-41 with his left-arm spin.

Earlier, Sohail Akhtar hit 44, while Mohammad Irfan and international all-rounder Hammad Azam struck 32 each to guide FATA to 236 all out in 47.1 overs.

Sohail hammered eight fours and one six in his rapid 32-ball knock. Irfan smashed three fours from 51 balls. Hammad banged four fours from 37 deliveries.

Spinner Mohammad Irfan was the main destroyer with 4-35. Waqas Ahmed ably backed him with 3-29.

The third round of the eight-team event will be held on Monday (tomorrow). The event is being held under single league basis with the leading four teams in the end progressing to the semi-finals.