Karachi storm into semi-finals
A round-up of the fifth match day of the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup
ESPNcricinfo staff
28-Jun-2011
Shahzaib Hasan smashed four sixes in his 69 off 28 balls • Dr Naeem Ashraf
Karachi Dolphins moved into the semi-finals of the Faysal Bank super Eight T20 tournament with the biggest win in Pakistan's domestic Twenty20 history, thrashing Faisalabad Wolves by 124 runs at the Iqbal Stadium. Opener Shahzaib Hasan was the chief destroyer, muscling 69 off just 28 balls to power Karachi to a massive 231. In reply, Faisalabad were rolled over for 107, bowled out in the 14th over with fast bowler Sohail Khan and offspinner Haaris Ayaz taking three wickets each.
The carnage began in the third over after Karachi chose to bat, with Shahzaib slamming Mohammad Talha for 26 runs. Shahzaib reached his fifty as early as the fifth over, and Karachi's 100 came up in the eighth. Khalid Latif took over once Shahzaib was dismissed in the seventh over, clubbing five sixes in a 26-ball 46. Faisalabad hit back with four wickets in two overs, but cameos from Mohammad Sami and Ayaz pushed Karachi to the biggest total of the tournament.
Faisalabad's chase was rocked early as the openers were dismissed in the second over, and the big names, Mohammad Hafeez and Misbah-ul-Haq, also perished cheaply. They moved to 84 for 4 in the eighth over before the challenge petered out, the final six wickets going down for 23 runs.
Rawalpindi Rams joined Karachi in the semi-finals by cruising to a seven-wicket victory over Multan Tigers in the final league match of Group B. Left-arm spinner Raza Hasan ran through the Multan middle order to set up the win.
Multan began what was virtually a quarter-final match steadily, if not spectacularly, reaching 51 for 0 in the seventh over. It was mostly downhill for Multan after that; first they lost both openers in the space of five deliveries as they slid to 54 for 3. Naved Yasin and Zeeshan Ashraf crafted a patient recovery before another collapse. This time the damage was 7 for 26 as Raza struck four times.
That left Rawalpindi needing only 129 to make the semi-finals. They had a bit of a stutter as their openers departed after a bright start. It was easy for Rawalpindi after that, losing only one more wicket before Jamal Anwar and Sohail Tanvir put on 73 to confirm Multan's exit.