Rawalpindi edge Lahore Whites, all-round Imad guides Islamabad to win

KARACHI: Hit by the absence of Kamran and Umar Akmal, whose mother passed away on Friday, hot favourites Lahore Whites were beaten by Rawalpindi by six wickets in the National T20 Cup at Multan Stadium in Multan on Friday.

According to sources, when Kamran and Umar Amin went onto the field for the toss, Umar Akmal called Kamran back to dressing room to disclose the news of their mother’s death. The sources said that both brothers were in deep shock and the team management had to send them home. Salman Butt came in for the toss with Umar Amin. The match started quite late at 10:30am and so was reduced to 15 overs a side.

Lahore Whites, who had won their initial two games, were restricted to only 105-8 in the stipulated 15 overs.

Rawalpindi then rode on the batting heroics from Hammad Azam (30*) and skipper Umar Amin (28*) to achieve the 106-run target with two balls to spare.

After being asked to bat first by Umar Amin, Lahore Whites’ batting line-up failed to show any resistance and were restricted to a low total on a pitch which was not easy to bat on.Salman Butt, stand-in skipper, top-scored 25 before being held smartly by Abdul Rehman off Hammad Azam. Salman smacked two fours from 22 deliveries.

Wahab Riaz in the end made a quick-fire 18-ball 23 not out, having smacked one four and one six.Ali Khan, with 16-ball 20, was the only other who managed double figures. Ali hit two fours in his brief effort.

Spinner Zahid Mansoor bowled tightly, picking 2-11 in two overs. Left-arm spinner Khalid Usman got 2-22 in three overs.In response, Rawalpindi were at one stage struggling at 52-4 and it seemed that it would be a gripping affair. However, Hammad Azam and Umar Amin batted with responsibility to enable their side to race to the target quite comfortably in the end.

The duo put on 54 for the fifth wicket unbroken stand to seal an important win for their side.In the final two overs, Rawalpindi needed 16 runs. Hammad Azam hit young medium pacer Amad Butt for a couple of fours off his slower ones in the penultimate over that fetched 11 runs to leave only five runs for fast bowler Umaid Asif to defend in the last over.

Umaid conceded one run each off his first three balls before Umar Amin scored a couple off his fourth ball to achieve their second victory from three outings in the eight-team event so far.Hammad smashed four fours in his unfinished 20-ball 30. Umar smacked one six and one four in his 26-ball 28.

Earlier, opener Nasir Nawaz hammered 20-ball 22 with one four.Test off-spinner Bilal Asif got 2-17 in three overs. Rookie spinner Hassan Khan and Amad Butt got one wicket each.Hammad Azam was declared Man of the Match for his fine all-round performance.

Meanwhile, Islamabad romped to their maiden win when they defeated Lahore Blues by 24 runs thanks to skipper Imad Wasim’s solid all-round performance.

Imad (64) batted brilliantly to guide Islamabad to 159-7 in the allotted 20 overs. Imad (2-25) then got vital wickets of Nauman Anwar (1) and Salman Ali Agha (2) to dismiss Lahore Blues for 135. Lahore Blues were missing Adnan Akmal due to his mother’s death.After deciding to bat first, Islamabad rode on batting heroics of Imad and Ali Sarfraz (45) to post a decent total.

Both added 49 runs for the second wicket association. Ali struck five fours and a six from 36 balls. Imad, who fell in the last over after hitting five fours and two sixes in his swashbuckling 42-ball knock, also shared 42 runs for the fourth wicket with Adeel Malik who chipped in with 16-ball 18 with one six. Aizaz Cheema (2-24) and Qaiser Ashraf (2-30) bowled well.

Islamabad then survived opener Rizwan Hussain’s scare to dismiss Lahore Blues well behind the target.Rizwan smashed 54-ball 72, striking five sixes and four fours to prevent his side from complete destruction.Besides Imad’s tidy bowling it was Test discard Umar Gul who stole the day with 3-22 in four overs. Test pacer Sohail Khan got 2-18 in 2.5 overs. Imad was adjudged Man of the Match.