Sialkot go top after Amjad ton

A maiden century by Mansoor Amjad took Sialkot Stallions to a five-wicket win - and thereby top of the points table - over Multan Tigers in Ghari Khuda Baksh.

Multan's innings of 234 revolved around Sohaib Maqsood's 91. The rest of the batting, though, couldn't last long enough to provide him much-needed support. Wickets fell regularly after a second-wicket stand of 96. From 122 for 2, they would be reduced to being bowled out in the last over. All six of the oppositions' bowlers were among the wickets.

In reply, Sialkot struggled at 27 for 3, with offspinner Aamer Yamin taking two of those wickets. But Amjad and opener Yasir Aziz staged a recover with 102 for the fourth wicket, before the later was dismissed for 66. Amjad found able support through Adeel Malik (44), which helped them get home in the 46th over.

An all-round show from Bahawalpur Stags took them to a convincing six-wicket win over Quetta Bears in Karachi. The foundation for the win was laid by seamer Mohammad Mudassar and spinner Faisal Elahi, who shared seven wickets between them to bowl the Bears out for 144, and an aggressive career-best knock of 93 by opener Imranullah Aslam.

Quetta were behind in the game from the outset, as they were 6 for 3. Although a recovery stand of 49 between Taimur Ali and Abid Ali followed, the lower order couldn't follow it up with any resistance.

They picked up an early wicket in Bahawalpur's chase, but that proved to be a false dawn, as Imranullah punished the bowlers in his 88-ball knock with ten fours and four sixes, effectively taking the game away.

A responsible 71 by Sami Aslam was backed up by a decent middle-order batting performance asLahore Eagles defeated Hyderabad Hawks by four wickets in Hyderabad. This was the Hawks' first loss in the tournament, and the Eagles' first win.

They had a shaky start to their chase of 238, with two wickets falling early, but Jahangir Mirza, who scored 54, stuck with Aslam to put on a 111-run stand. Later, the captain and wicketkeeper Adnan Akmal also chipped in with a half-century, to help his side get home with two overs to spare.

Hyderabad, with a 132-run stand for the third wicket between Taj Wasan and Rizwan Ahmed, got to a commanding 173 for 2 at one stage in their innings. But the next eight wickets fell for 64 runs, as the middle and lower order crumbled. Wasan finished on 69, while Rizwan finished on 73. Adnan Rasool was the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 28.

Karachi Zebras won their rain-affected encounter with Faisalabad Wolves in Rawalpinidi by 1 run through D/L method, and moved to top spot in Group B.

Karachi were put into bat, and started solidly to get to 105 for 2. The innings lost momentum thereafter, as Faisalabad struck regularly. Contributions from Tariq Haroon (37) and Anwar Ali (37) helped push the total to 215, as they were dismissed in 46 overs.

Faisalabad, in reply, were in trouble at 18 for 3. They lost two more in quick succession to be reduced to 60 for 5. Zeeshan Butt's unbeaten 67, along with Imran Khalid's 42, did their best to steer the ship, as they put on a 97-run stand for the seventh wicket. However, once rain intervened, Faisalabad were 1 run short of the D/L comparative score.

Islamabad Leopards won their rain-affected game against Abbottabad Falcons by 20 runs through D/L method, in Islamabad.

Islamabad chose to bat, with opener Raheel Majeed scoring 47. A brace of wickets left Umair Khan batting with the rest of the tail as Islamabad struggled to string substantial partnerships. Khan's unbeaten 91, supported by small contributions from other batsmen, and 31 extras, pushed their score to 275 for 9. Kamran Ghulam was the pick of the bowlers with a career-best 3 for 29.

Abbottabad started strongly with a 102-run stand between Ghulam and Sajjad Ali. However, with the fall of regular wickets, they fell behind in the chase, which was revived by a 51-run stand for the seventh wicket. A late rally from Yasir Shah, with an unbeaten 66, tried to keep them abreast of the required run-rate. But once rain intervened they were found short by 20 runs on D/L.

Peshawar Panthers comprehensively beat Lahore Lions by 80 runs at Gaddafi Stadium, to move up to second spot on the points table.

Peshawar, after electing to bat, lost Israrullah for 4. Nawaz Ahmed and wicketkeeper Mohammed Rizwan combined for 118 runs for the second wicket to stage a recovery. Nawaz finished with 93, with further contributions from Rizwan (55), Iftikhar Ahmed (81) and Gauhar Ali (26). Aizaz Cheema took wickets both up front and towards the end of the innings, as Panthers finished with 294 for 7 in their fifty overs. Cheema had best figures of 5 for 61.

Lahore Lions didn't start assuredly well, as they lost opener Imran Butt for 10. They could not string together meaningful partnerships, as the top and middle-order struggled to keep pace with the soaring required run-rate. The innings was kept in check through the bowling of spinner Mohammad Adnan, who picked up 5 for 46, and Zohaib Khan, who picked up 3 for 33. Despite a late order hit-out from Asif Raza (30) and Agha Salman (42), Lahore folded for 214 in the 48th over.