Zakir ton powers Dolphins to title

A second successive hundred from Asif Zakir, who scored an unbeaten 170, set up Karachi Dolphins' 30-run win over Peshawar Panthers in the One Day Cup final in Karachi.

Put in to bat, the Dolphins top order struck partnerships, with the most substantial one being the 110-run stand between Saad Ali and Zakir. The latter struck 20 fours and two sixes in his 135-ball knock, which was also his sixth ton in List A cricket, as the Panthers bowlers struggled to restrict the opposition.

Chasing 320, the Panthers top-order nearly emulated the performance of the opposition batsmen. The openers Iftikhar Ahmed and Israrullah put on 91 and kept pace with the asking rate. The Dolphins bowlers, although expensive, managed to strike regularly to stem partnerships between the Panthers batsmen, ensuring that the opening stand was the only fifty-plus partnership in the Panthers innings. The Panthers missed a big innings as both Israrullah and Adil Amin were out for 53 and 60 respectively. Although they struggled to contain wickets, the Panthers batsmen managed to keep up with the required rate, but the end came in the 44th over, with the batting side just 30 runs adrift.