Lahore Blues flatten Quetta to boost semi-final bid

KARACHI: Lahore Blues augmented their semi-finals chances when they romped to their second successive nine-wicket victory over Quetta Region in their Group A game of the T20 Cup qualifiers in Rawalpindi on Wednesday.
The loss also put Quetta out of contention for a spot in the main round because of their second consecutive loss.
Lahore Blues raced to 101-run target in 14 overs after losing only skipper Adnan Akmal (12) who was given out for obstructing the field. Imam-ul-Haq was a class act as the left-hander played with maturity and struck unbeaten 57 to steer his side to a convincing triumph.
Imam, the nephew of former Pakistan’s captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, smashed six glorious fours from 41 deliveries. He added 47 for the opening stand with Adnan and then piled up 54 for the second wicket unbroken partnership with Test cricketer Sami Aslam (27*) who smacked two fours from 28 deliveries.
Earlier, pacer Attaullah (3-13) and spinner Agha Salman (3-20) rattled Quetta for only 100 in 19.1 overs. The duo was ably backed by Reza Ali Dar with 2-10.
Arun Lal (24), skipper Jalat Khan (17) and Gohar Faiz (16) were the only batsmen of Quetta who entered double figures.
In a Group B outing, Bahawalpur snatched a three-run victory over Dera Murad Jamali thanks to Faisal Mubashir’s fine unbeaten fifty and Mohammad Imran’s (2-22) splendid last over.
Chasing 131, DM Jamali needed six runs off the last over from medium-pacer Imran who conceded just two runs.
Faisal Mubashir (66*) single-handedly steered Bahawalpur to a respectable 130-6 after electing to bat first.
Faisal, who came at number two, hit seven fours from 42 deliveries.
Imran Khan and Nasir Khan grabbed two wickets each.
In reply, DM Jamali were restricted to 127-7. Nasir Khan (33) and Najeebullah (33), who shared 59 for the fifth wicket, had pushed their side near a victory. But after their fall at a crucial stage the tail-enders failed to read the situation and wasted a perfect oppurtunity to win when Imran bowled a nice final over.
Opener Shehbaz Ali belted 28-ball 32 with five hits to the fence.
On Tuesday night, star-studded Karachi Blues survived a scare when they barely managed to beat Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) by eight runs after having faced tough resistance from the tribesmen in their Group B opener.
Set to score 154, FATA needed 19 runs off the last over from left-arm paceman Rumman Raees and ten from the last two balls. But Rumman clean bowled Zeeshan Khan (18) off the fifth ball before conceding just a single off the next ball to manage a much-needed win for the port city.
After being invited to bat, Shahzaib Hasan slammed 44-ball 53 with three sixes and two fours to guide Karachi Blues to a fighting 153-7.
Shahzaib added 44 for the opening stand with Khurram Manzoor (21) who struck three fours from 15 balls. He then added vital 50 for the fourth wicket with left-hander Fawad Alam (32) who hit three fours from 30 deliveries. Skipper Sarfraz Ahmed, in the end, smashed unbeaten 14-ball 24 with three fours. Mohammad Sami banged valuable 12 off five balls with one six and one four that ultimately worked for them.
Mohammad Sarwar got 4-32.
FATA, in reply, were restricted to 145-7. Fawad Khan (39), Khushdil Shah (33) and Rehan Afridi (19) were the prominent contributors. Anwar Ali (2-29) and Rumman (2-38) bowled well.
Larkana were facing Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) in their Group A show on Wednesday night. On Thursday (today), Karachi Blues face DM Jamali, Bahawalpur meet FATA, while Quetta lock horns with AJK.