Hawks start semis stage with win

Hyderabad Hawks made a strong start to the semi-final stage of the President's Silver Cup tournament with a seven-wicket victory over Water and Power Development Authority. The semi-final stage is being played in a round-robin format between the three top teams of the league stages, and the two teams that finish at the top of the triangular stage will qualify for the final. Faisalabad Wolves are the third team in the semi-final stage along with Hawks and WAPDA.

Hawks bowlers gave the side an early advantage after they opted to bowl in a match that was reduced to 43 overs a side. Quick strikes from Babar Khan and Mir Ali left WAPDA at a shaky 76 for 4 and they were able to improve their position through useful knocks from Aamer Sajjad (39), Naved-ul-Hasan (31) and Ayaz Tassawar, who top-scored for WAPDA with a 49-ball 40. The Hawks bowlers, however, kept picking wickets and eventually limited WAPDA to 212 for 8. Babar Khan was the best bowler for Hawks with 3 for 40, while Mir Ali and Nasir Awais picked up two wickets apiece.

Hawks were in a spot of bother at 50 for 2 but unbeaten fifties from Faisal Athar and Shoaib Laghari, and a 110-run, fourth-wicket partnership between the pair steered the side to a win with 14 deliveries to spare. Athar was unbeaten on 68 off 78 balls, with eight fours and a six, while Laghari scored a swift 55 off 39 deliveries with three fours and three sixes.