Rawalpindi, Lahore Whites clash for T20 Cup today

KARACHI: Rawalpindi and Lahore Whites set final date after beating Karachi Whites and Islamabad, respectively, in contrasting fashion in the semi-finals of the National T20 Cup at Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday.

The final will be held on Tuesday (today) at 3pm.Powered by Naved Malik’s swashbuckling 54-ball 90, Rawalpindi overwhelmed Karachi Whites by six runs after a tense clash in the first semi-final. In the second pre-final, the ruthless hitting of Kamran Akmal (93) and Ali Khan (51) helped Lahore Whites rout Islamabad by 88 runs.

The Karachi Whites-Rawalpindi clash was an absorbing one as the fortunes kept fluctuating. Chasing 158, Karachi Whites were at one stage in a good position. But in the 14th over, international all-rounder Hammad Azam took the prized scalps of Shoaib Malik (23) and Rameez Raja Junior (0) to leave the game evenly poised.

Fawad Alam (52) remained the sole hope for Karachi Whites. But the left-hander failed to live up to expectations despite scoring fifty. He failed to manage big strokes which his team needed in the death overs.

In the final two overs, Karachi Whites needed 23 runs. Left-arm pacer Sadaf Hussain conceded only five in the penultimate over to leave 18 for international left-armer Sohail Tanvir to defend in the final over. Sohail gave away 11 runs as Fawad played a dot ball and managed only 4, 2, 2, 2, and 1 off the last five deliveries.

Fawad smacked two fours and one six in his 37-ball knock. He got a chance on 14, as he was dropped by Mohammad Nawaz off Hammad Azam’s bowling in the same over in which the right-armer later got rid of Malik and Rameez. Akbar-ur-Rehman remained not out on 11-ball ten which featured one four.

Awais Zia (40) and Khurram Manzoor (23) had provided a rapid 51-run start off 33 deliveries to Karachi Whites. International spinner Mohammad Nawaz gave a vital breakthrough to Rawalpindi when he had Khurram. The opener came down the wicket, but missed the ball which crashed his off-stumps. Khurram clobbered four fours from 15 balls.

Awais was trapped leg before by spinner Khalid Usman, which left Karachi Whites at 79-2 in 10.3 overs.Malik smashed one four from 25 balls. Hammad got 2-27. Sadaf Hussain and Sohail Tanvir conceded 30 runs each in their quotas of four overs.

After being sent into bat, Rawalpindi’s innings revolved around dashing Naved Malik. The right-handed opener faced no difficulty in managing forceful strokes. He reached his second successive fifty off 36 balls. He smashed five huge sixes and nine fours from just 54 deliveries to take his side to a fighting total of 157-9.

After his fall, Rawalpindi’s wickets fell in a clatter. They lost their last five wickets inside 16 balls, adding just 11 runs.Naved dominated the 72-run partnership for the third wicket with Saud Shakeel, who chipped in with a 27-ball 25 which included two fours. Naved then shared 39 for the fourth wicket with Hammad before Rahat Ali had the latter caught excellently by Fawad in the deep. Hammad struck two fours and one six from only 14 balls.

Spinner Raza Hasan (2-21), Rahat (2-25) and Mohammad Sami (2-34) were the leading wicket-takers.“I am proud of my boys who played very well,” Rawalpindi’s skipper Umar Amin said. “Naved, who was not even in playing-XI, won two matches for us with his excellent batting.

“Finalising semi-final squad last night was very tough. But we picked the best possible squad and the result is before you,” Umar said.The failure in chasing the total hurt Karachi Whites’ skipper Mohammad Sami. “The wicket was good and we should have chased the target,” Sami said.

Naved was adjudged the Man of the Match. The semi-final between Lahore Whites and Islamabad turned out to be a one-sided affair. Skipper Kamran Akmal and Ali Khan punished Islamabad’s bowlers by scoring 84 off only 36 balls for the fourth wicket association to guide Lahore Whites to 219-6, the highest total of the event so far.

Kamran smashed five sixes and eight fours from only 52 balls. Ali, promoted in the batting order, hammered six sixes and one four from 22 deliveries.Kamran scored 26 runs in the 17th over, bowled by fast bowler Shehzad Azam Rana, hitting the right-armer for three sixes and two fours.

In the next over, Umar Gul conceded 28 runs. Ali hit the discarded Test pacer for three successive sixes and a four off the fourth delivery before losing his wicket on the fifth ball. Kamran then hit Gul for a six off his last ball. Sohail Khan got 2-36.

Islamabad, in response, managed only 131-8 with Gul scoring 31-ball 30, hitting one six and three fours. Sohail Khan made 17-ball 23 with three sixes. Umaid Asif (2-24), Amad Butt (2-18) and Bilal Asif (2-34) bowled tightly. Kamran was declared the Man of the Match.