Lions scamper home by three wickets
A round-up of the second round matches that took place on March 11
Cricinfo staff
12-Mar-2006
Lahore Lions made heavy weather of a modest target, beating Hyderabad Hawks by three wickets
in an ABN AMRO Cup league match at Lahore. Chasing 200, Lahore lost three early wickets before half-centuries by Rashid Riaz and Adnan Raza provided stability. Naeem-ur-Rehman, the medium-pacer, then struck back with three wickets, all lbw, to leave Lahore in a spot of bother at 157 for 7 but Raza guided his team to victory with an unbeaten 69. Earlier, Hyderabad failed to capitalise on winning the toss, losing wickets regularly. Shahid Qambrani, continuing his good form after his ton in the previous game, was the only batsman to cross fifty.
An unbeaten 112 by Afaq Raheem helped Islamabad Leopards canter to a easy nine-wicket win
against Karachi Dolphins in an ABN AMRO Cup league match at Islamabad. Raheem struck 17 boundaries and added 146 with Bazid Khan for the second wicket to see the side through. Sent in to bat, the Karachi batsmen struggled against some quality bowling by the Islamabad bowlers. Rauf Akbar and Zohaib Ahmed, the opening bowlers, shared seven wickets between them to bundle Karachi out for 190. Akbar had the best figures of 4 for 44 and cleaned up the tail.
Sialkot Stallions bagged their first win in the tournament beating Rawalpindi Rams by three wickets
in an ABN AMRO Cup league match at Karachi. Batting first, Rawalpindi finished on 221 with half-centuries by Mohammad Wasim (74), the former Pakistan batsman, and Yasir Arafat (64*). Tahir Mughal and Mansoor Amjad took three wickets each for Sialkot. Sialkot began their chase losing two quick wickets before Atiq-ur-Rehman (60) steadied the innings. The middle-order batsmen chipped in with useful scores as Sialkot got home with over four overs to spare.
A scintillating 118 off only 85 balls by Ali Naqvi helped Abbottabad Rhinos beat Quetta Bears by four wickets
in a high-scoring duel at Abbottabad. Set a target of 315, the Rhinos won in the final over, guided by Ahmad Said (50*), the wicketkeeper. Naqvi's innings included six fours and sixes, taking the attack top the bowlers before being run-out in the final stages of the chase. Earlier, Quetta were propelled by their lower order, with half-centuries by Faisal Irfan (78), the captain and Hameedullah Khan (64). Both scored at over a run-a-ball. Adil Nasar finished the innings in style, scoring 42 off only 23 balls with three sixes.
Faisalabad Wolves beat Multan Tigers convincingly by fifty runs
in an ABN AMRO Cup league match at Faisalabad Chasing 265, Multan lost wickets at regular intervals and never really looked like winning. Adnan Akmal, brother of national wicketkeeper Kamran, showed some fight late in the innings but was short of assistance at the other end. Earlier, Misbah-ul-Haq, the Faisalabad captain, scored a valuable 65 to take his side to a competitive total before being stumped off Majid Majeed, the offbreak bowler who finished with four wickets.
Teams batting second in the second round games in the ABN AMRO Cup have generally emerged triumphant, as Peshawar Panthers prevailed in a high-scoring duel
beating Karachi Bears by five wickets thanks to an unbeaten 117 by Mohammad Fayyaz. Fayyaz and Rafatullah Mohmand (51) took the game away from Peshawar, with a 90-run stand for the second wicket. Earlier, Khurram Manzoor (50), Naumanullah (81) and Hasan Raza (70) helped Karachi post a tall score of 284. Fazl-e-Akbar was the best bowler for Peshawar picking up three wickets.