Habib Bank overcome Ghumman scare

Azeem Ghumman's final-innings century was in vain as Hyderabad Hawks were dismissed 19 runs short of victory in the quarter-final against Habib Bank Limited at Mirpur Cricket Stadium. Chasing 286, Hyderabad crumbled to 79 for 6 in 24 overs. They were then steadied by a 98-run stand between Lal Kumar and Ghumman, but three more wickets went down for 30 runs and Hyderabad were sinking at 207 for 9. Ghumman, however, found support in last man Babar Khan, who made 28, and the pair took Hyderabad to 267 before Ghumman fell for 121 off 156 balls. Umar Gul and Abdur Rehman took three wickets apiece for HBL.

HBL's victory came despite a disastrous first innings after they were sent in to bat. They were shot out for 128 in 43.1 overs with Mir Ali taking 5 for 39 for Hyderabad. Rameez Aziz was HBL's top scorer with 49.

Hyderabad went on to claim a first-innings lead of 138, with ten out of their 11 batsmen getting starts. No one went on to make a half-century, though, and their top-scorer was No. 11 Naeem-ur-Rehman, who made 43 off 39 balls. Abdur Rehman and Ashiq Ali took four wickets each for HBL.

HBL's victory was set up by a strong second-innings performance led by Bilal Shafayat's unbeaten 201 off 257 balls, which included 30 fours. Rameez contributed 80 as HBL declared on 423 for 5, setting Hyderabad a target of 286. It didn't look like they would come close, but they fell just short in the end.

Strong bowling performances from Atif Maqbool and Tabish Khan set up Sui Southern Gas Corporation's 235-run victory against Pakistan Television at National Ground in Islamabad.

SSGC were dismissed for 266 after choosing to bat, riding on half-centuries from Usman Tariq, Mohammad Waqas and Tariq Haroon. Waqar Ahmed took 5 for 53 for PTV. Maqbool then ranthrough the PTV batting lineup, taking 6 for 82 to dismiss them for 222 in 67.5 overs. Hasan Raza made 59, but six other batsmen failed to convert their starts.

SSGC's batting built on the 44-run lead and piled up 373 in the second innings. Three of the top four batsmen made half-centuries and there were useful contributions from the lower order too. Awais Zia top scored with 79. PTV used as many as nine bowlers; Nawaz Ahmed took 3 for 60. Chasing 418, PTV were shot out for 182. Rehan Afridi made 70, but no one else contributed substantially as Tabish claimed 5 for 55 to wreck the chase.