Akmal brothers continue Lahore's dominance

Lahore Lions' strong batting line-up fired to ensure a 48-run victory over Faisalabad Wolves in Rawalpindi that kept Lahore's 100% record in the tournament intact. Nasir Jamshed and Ahmed Shehzad fired at the top with a 76-run partnership that was dominated by Shehzad, who hit two sixes and six fours in his 48 off 29 balls. The pair departed in quick succession but Umar and Kamran Akmal built on the platform with a 90-run stand. Kamran hit three sixes in his 46 off 31 while Umar scored 57 off 37, with seven fours. The total of 194 was always going to be a stiff ask for Faisalabad. Asif Hussain tok up the challenge and scored a boundary-filled 64 but wickets kept tumbling as Faisalabad tried to cope with the rising asking-rate. Zia-ul-Haq finished with five wickets as Lahore completed a comfortable win.

Iftikhar Ahmed and Riaz Afridi starred with bat and ball respectively in Peshawar Panthers' 31-run win over Karachi Zebras in Rawalpindi. The Panthers, choosing to bat first, were guided by Iftikhar's 77, off 56 balls. He batted till the 18th over, hitting seven fours and three sixes in his knock, setting up his team's score of 158. Anwar Ali and Uzair-ul-Haq took two wickets apiece. The Zebras were jolted by Afridi's early strikes, losing three before the fifth over. Faisal Iqbal and Anwar added an exact 50 for the fourth wicket, but it wasn't enough to sustain the chase. Afridi took two more wickets to end with 4 for 15 off his allotted overs to guide the Panthers to their first win.