Shehzad helps Lahore open with win

A star-studded Lahore Lions batting line-up comfortably overcame Karachi Zebras' total of 135 in Rawalpindi, to get their team off to a winning start in the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup. Ahmed Shehzad, who recently topped the run-chart in the Bangladesh Premier League, continued his Twenty20 form, scoring 61 not out off 52 balls to guide the chase. Umar Akmal's 43 off 26 balls gave the innings impetus after a sluggish start, and though Kamran Akmal, Nasir Jamshed and Abdul Razzaq all failed, Lahore won by six wickets, with 13 balls to spare. Karachi had got off to a brisk start after choosing to bat, but their top-order batsmen did not convert starts and their 135 for 5 was not enough.

Ali Waqas held his nerve to give Faisalabad Wolves a win off the penultimate ball of their chase against Peshawar Panthers, in Rawalpindi. Faisalabad needed 128 to win and looked comfortable at 106 for 3 in the 17th over. A collapse of five wickets for 19 that included three run-outs meant they still needed three runs off three balls in the final over. Waqas, who had been at the crease since the fourth over, got the required runs off the next two balls, finishing with 43 not out off 49 balls. Faisalabad's bowlers had picked up wickets consistently to limit Peshawar to 127 for 8, left-arm spinner Hasan Mahmood taking 3 for 11 in his four overs. They gave away 17 runs in wides however, which could have cost them.