Lahore Eagles clinch one-run win

Group I

Legspinner Tanzeel Altaf took two wickets in the final over as Lahore Eagles defeated Rawalpindi Rams by one run at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Zahid Mansoor struck an unbeaten 96 off 61 balls in Rams' chase of 318, but watched from the non-striker's end as Altaf dismissed Munir Ansari and Mujahid Amin with the third and sixth balls of the last over.

Chasing 316, Rawalpindi Rams stayed on course with Awais Zia and the captain Babar Naeem scoring 53 each, and Mansoor striking 11 fours to reach 94 off 58 when the 45th over began.

Rawalpindi Rams needed six off six balls, with two wickets in hand. Altaf had smashed five sixes in an unbeaten 14-ball 44 to propel Lahore Eagles to 317 for 6, but had been expensive with the ball, conceding 54 in his first six overs. He gave away a single off the second ball and followed that with a wide, before trapping Ansari lbw. Singles off the next two balls left Mujahid needing to score two off the last ball, and Altaf bowled Mujahid for 1 to give Lahore Eagles their first win of the tournament.

Sent in to bat, Lahore Eagles were 101 for 5 after losing two wickets in the 17th over. Ikhlaq Butt and Zeeshan Ali put on a 144-run partnership before Butt fell in the 41st over for 109, after which Zeeshan and Altaf smashed 72 off the last 29 balls. Zeeshan finished on an unbeaten 84-ball 93, while Altaf struck left-arm spinner Babar Naeem for two fours and three sixes off the last five balls of the innings.

Babar Agha made an unbeaten 116 as Karachi Zebras beat Peshawar Panthers by two wickets at the Arbab Niaz Stadium. Chasing 246, Karachi Zebras were 34 for 4 - fast bowler Azizullah had taken all four wickets - when Agha joined Naved Khan in a 119-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Karachi Zebras still needed 93 when Naved fell for an 83-ball 74, but the lower order rallied around Agha. He put on 59 with Ali Mudassar, who made 14, and an unbroken 25 with No. 10 Usama Basharat to take his team over the line with two balls remaining, after left-arm spinner Jibran Khan had struck twice to reduce them to 223 for 8.

Earlier, Adil Amin scored a 121-ball 123 to take Peshawar Panthers' 245 for 8. Five other batsmen got into double figures, but Mohammad Idrees' 27 was their second-highest score. Ali Mudassar was Karachi Zebras' most successful bowler with 3 for 35 in nine overs.

Zahir Siddiqi took four wickets and scored 28 off eight balls as Bahawalpur Stags beat Abbottabad Falcons by four wickets at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. After Mohammad Naeem built Abbottabad Falcons' innings with a 58-ball 60, Siddiqi ran through their lower order to trigger a collapse from 200 for 6 to 219 all out with 5.5 overs to go.

Bahawalpur Stags lost an early wicket but Mohammad Yasir and Faisal Mubashir steadied the innings with a 62-run partnership for the second wicket before two more wickets fell in quick succession. Adeel Basit, coming in at No.5, scored 62 off 74 balls and put up an unbroken 34 with Siddiqi, who hit three fours and two sixes in eight balls, to take the team home with 14 balls remaining.

Group II

Ahsan Kareem took three wickets and scored an 11-ball 15 to steer Islamabad Leopards to a one-wicket win over Faisalabad Wolves at Iqbal Stadium. Making his List A debut, the 25-year-old Kareem struck three early blows to leave Faisalabad Wolves reeling at 45 for 4. Hamza Zaheer and Hasan Mahmood scored 30s and added 56 for the fifth wicket, but a 26 from wicketkeeper Mohammad Miqdad was Faisalabad Wolves' only other notable score as they were bowled out for 198 with an over to go.

Opener Sarwar Khan made 47 and Sarmad Bhatti scored 33 but Islamabad Leopars kept losing wickets regularly as they slumped to 155 for 8, with 44 still to get. Wicketkeeper Salman Haider and Kareem took them to 198 when Shehroz Raza took his fourth wicket, dismissing Haider for a 29-ball 43. Kareem and his No.11 partner Shehzad Azam nonetheless held their nerve and completed the win with five balls remaining.

Mir Hamza and Khurram Shahzad shared seven wickets, and Mohammad Waqas scored an unbeaten 62 as Karachi Dolphins beat Hyderabad Hawks by five wickets at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Hyderabad Hawks never recovered after being reduced to 41 for 4, with Shahzad picking up three of the top four wickets. Shoaib Laghari scored 48 and put on 50 with Lal Kumar for the fifth wicket, but Hamza swept through the lower order to finish with four wickets, and their innings closed with 6.2 overs still remaining.

Chasing 152, Karachi Dolphins were 23 for 4 before Waqas and Mohammad Hasan helped them recover with an 82-run partnership. Jawad Ali dismissed wicketkeeper Hasan for 46, but that was to be Hyderabad Hawks' last success. Waqas saw Karachi Dolphins through to finish with 62 off 101 balls, and put on an unbroken 52 with Shahzaib Ahmed, who scored 25.

Opener Arsalan Arshad scored 94 as Lahore Lions thumped Quetta Bears by 89 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium. Arshad struck nine fours and two sixes in a 123-ball knock that helped anchor a Lahore Lions innings without any other major contribution. Extras, in fact, were the team's second-highest score - 40, of which 30 came in wides. Left-arm spinner Mohibullah took 5 for 43 in eight overs.

Chasing 261, Quetta Bears never really got going and dwindled to 123 for 8 before Fareeduddin Agha and Gohar Faiz put on 43, the highest partnership of the innings. The visiting side were eventually all out for 171, with offspinner Agha Salman taking three wickets. Fareeduddin remained not out on 56, having hit six fours and a six in his 63-ball knock.