Ajmal strikes lead Faisalabad to quarter-finals

Group A

Karachi Dolphins eased to a six-wicket win over Sialkot Stallions, but the win was not sufficient to take the team to the quarter-finals. A group-stage loss to Larkana Bulls, who had the same win-loss record, proved costly for Karachi. In spite of their loss, Sialkot qualified for the quarter-finals along with Larkana.

In spite of the stronger batting line-up, Sialkot were restricted to 91 by left-arm pacer Abdul Ameer and left-arm spinner Fawad Alam. Regular strikes prevented partnerships from thriving and the best individual score of the Sialkot innings came from captain Shoaib Malik, who scored 21 off 31. Ameer finished with 4 for 14 in 3.4 overs, while Alam had figures of 3 for 12.

Sialkot had a small chance of challenging Karachi when they reduced the batting side to 30 for 4 in the eighth over. However, Alam and Sheharyar Ghani added an unbeaten 62 for the fifth wicket to take the team to victory in the 18th over.

Group C

Faisalabad Wolves romped to an eight-wicket win over Lahore Eagles, topping Group C in the process. Faisalabad and Islamabad Leopards will now play the quarter-final round.

Opting to bat, Lahore were looking solid at 65 for 1 in the 10th over, but Saeed Ajmal struck in successive overs to dismiss well-set batsmen, Kamran Akmal (30) and Imran Farhat (23). Akmal's wicket began a slide which saw Lahore lose their next seven wickets for 25 runs, to end at 93 for 8. Ajmal ended with figures of 3 for 16, while Asad Ali and Khurram Shehzad took two wickets each.

Faisalabad faced little trouble in their chase as their openers, Farrukh Shehzad (23) and Ali Waqas, added 47. Waqas shared a 45-run partnership for the second wicket with Khurram Shehzad, before the latter fell with the side two runs short of victory. Waqas was unbeaten on 31 off 38 balls, helping his side reach the target with more than six overs to spare.