Bowlers set up big win for Karachi Blues

Karachi Blues skittled Peshawar in the second innings within 22 overs to complete a 10-wicket win and take the top position in Group I with 12 points. After taking an 86-run lead in the first innings, Karachi fast bowlers Tanvir Ahmed and Tabish Khan ran through the Peshawar batting on the second day to bowl them out for 95. The batsmen took less than two overs to overhaul the target and pick up nine points for the win.

Tanvir triggered the collapse when he picked up Peshawar opener Mohammad Fayaz off the first ball of the innings. There wasn't much resitance after that, as the two bowlers shared five wickets each. The five wickets took Tanvir's tally to eight for the match.

Karachi, after choosing to field on the first day, had run through Peshawar in the first innings too. The batsmen weren't allowed to settle as regular wickets tumbled. Only two Peshawar batsmen - Sajjad Ahmed and Mohammad Rizwan - scored more than 30 and the team folded for 166. In response, Karachi collapsed to 119 for 7 and were in danger of conceding a first-innings lead. But an unbeaten 96 by Akbar-ur-Rehman helped them take a decisive lead. Waqar Ahmed, who took 5 for 56, and Riaz Afridi, 3 for 99, were the successful bowlers.

Karachi Whites 459 for 3 dec (Latif 155, Mohtashim Ali 103, Saeed Nasir 80*) beat Abbottabad 146 (Maqbool 6-60) and 168 (Maqbool 7-59) by an innings and 145 runs
Scorecard

With Atif Maqbool's 13-wicket haul, Karachi Whites handed Abbottabad a crushing defeat by an innings and 145 runs in Karachi. Trailing by 313 in the first innings, Abbottabad lost all their wickets for 168 in the second innings, out of which seven were scalped by Maqbool.

When Whites started the third day, they already led by 218 runs and Saeed Bin Nasir and Fawad Alam scored another 95 runs together before declaring the innings. Abbottabad openers put on 41 together, but once the opening partnership was broken, they lost their last eight wickets for 98 runs as Khalid Usman was reported absent hurt.

Karachi Whites picked up nine points from the win which takes them to top of the table in Group II.

A first-innings batting lapse proved costly for Hyderabad as Rawalpindi coasted to a six-wicket win at the Niaz Stadium. None of Hyderabad's batsmen, besides Mir Ali, were able to withstand Rawalpindi's bowling, led by quick Sadaf Hussain, as they were bowled out for 177 in the first innings. Although they pulled up their socks to match their opponents thereafter, and batted responsibly in their second dig, a target of 196 was overhauled without much trouble by Rawalpindi.

Rawalpindi cemented their dominance in the game by gaining a 125-run first innings lead. Opener Awaiz Zia and middle-order batsman Adnan Mufti scored half-centuries, but three innings of over 30 each by other top-order batsmen were also crucial in pushing their score towards the 300.

Hyderabad, with decent contributions from the top order, were easily able to erase the deficit. But none of the batsmen scored more than 64 runs as seamers Sadaf Hussain and Nasir Malik shared seven wickets between them to bowl them out for 320. They sniffed an opening when an early wicket had fallen in Rawalpindi's chase, but captain Babar Naeem and Umar Waheed struck a 98-run stand to help close out the game.

A century from Umair Khan and knock of 82 from Fahad Iqbal took Islamabad to a 136-run first-innings lead that helped them gain three points in a draw against Lahore Ravi. Islamabad could have won the game had here been more time, as Ravi were 42 runs ahead with two wickets in hand when the match was called off.

Ravi struggled from the outset, managing to score 216 due to half-centuries from Adnan Akmal - who was their rescuer in both innings - and Jahangir Mirza, in an otherwise indifferent batting effort. Shehzab Azam was the chief wicket-taker, with four wickets.

Islamabad replied strongly, and a 198-run stand between Umair and Iqbal fortified their strong position. From 289 for 3, however, they fell to 352 all out. Akmal's knock of 71 on the final day saved his team from an imminent defeat, as Ravi limped to 178 for 8 before the match as declared a draw.

Only 27.4 overs were possible, owing to foggy conditions and rain, in a drawn match between Bahawalpur and Lahore Shalimar at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground.