Ibexes get on board with one-run win

Seamer Atif Jabbar bowled three dot balls in the final over, as Dera Murad Jamali Ibexes held on for a one-run win against Bahawalpur Stags in Karachi.

Chasing 142, Stags lost their opener Hamid Ali early, but were buoyed by a 48-run partnership between the captain Imranullah Aslam (25) and Naeemuddin (32). However, two quick blows from the legspinner Abid Ali (2 for 23) thwarted Stags' momentum and reduced them to 71 for 4, with still 71 to get off 53 deliveries.

Faisal Mubashir kept Stags hoping with an unbeaten 25-ball 36, but he could not find the desired acceleration from his partners, as Kamran Hussain and Taimur Khan together used 21 deliveries to make just 19. Mubashir eventually brought the equation down to nine needed off the last over, but he and Waqas Khan could only manage three runs from the first five balls, meaning that Waqas' four off the final delivery was inconsequential - a six was what was needed.

Opting to bat, Ibexes had made 141 for 7 from their 20 overs. Their innings was built around a 46-ball 50 from Najeebullah, and his 56-run stand with Asif Ali, after opener Imran Khan had thumped 22 off eight to give his team a bright start.

Faisalabad Wolves opener Farrukh Shehzad slammed an unbeaten 72 off just 38 balls to help the team gun down 136 against AJK Jaguars with five overs to spare. Farrukh thumped nine fours and two sixes during his knock, as he and his opening partner Ali Waqas (43) raced to 102 inside 12 overs, setting Wolves up for a comprehensive eight-wicket victory.

Opting to bat, Jaguars began brightly themselves, with the captain Raheel Majeed scoring a 49-ball 60, with eight fours and a six. Majeed and Adil Gulbahar put up 90 for the first wicket, but three wickets in the space of 11 deliveries hampered Jaguars' momentum. Ghulam Murtaza offered a late surge by hitting 24 off 15 balls, but four of Wolves' bowlers went at under six an over, as Jaguars were kept to 135 for 4.

A late flourish from Mohammad Fayyaz, who scored an unbeaten 39 off 22 balls, led Peshawar Panthers to a four-wicket victory with a ball to spare against Islamabad Leopards. Chasing 157, Panthers lost Rafatullah Mohamand for a duck in the first over but were steadied by useful contributions from Nos. 2, 3 and 4. Adil Amin blitzed 39 off 21 balls but he and the others did not kick on, leaving the finish to Fayyaz. The equation was 44 off 24 balls when Fayyaz began to turn it on and Panthers won off the penultimate ball.

Leopards had built their total around Babar Azam's 70 off 51 balls. Only one other batsman - Afaq Raheem - made more than 15 as the innings suffered from the frequent loss of wickets. They were 133 for 2 in the 17th over but slipped to 137 for 6. Taj Wali took 3 for 36 for Panthers as Leopards were restricted to 156 for 6.