Behram Khan and Tabish Khan rout Multan Tigers
A round-up of the One-Day National Cup Division Two matches
ESPNcricinfo staff
27-Feb-2012
Group A
United Bank Limited opened their One-Day National Cup campaign with a crushing victory against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) in Lahore. United Bank's bowlers put in an impressive collective performance to dismiss SNGPL for 123 in 46.3 overs. Khurram Shehzad top scored with 42 for SNGPL, while Shabbir Shmed took 2 for 8 in 6.3 overs for United Bank. There was a hiccup during the chase, with United Bank slipping to 63 for 3, but Saad Sukhail scored an unbeaten 48 and Mohammad Sami made 35 to lead their team to a seven-wicket victory in 30 overs.
Peshawar Panthers beat Lahore Lions by four wickets after a tight contest at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Chasing 162, Peshawar were never going to be pressed by the asking-rate, but they lost wickets and slipped to 89 for 5. Their captain Akbar Badshah, however, scored an unbeaten 40 and wicketkeeper Gauhar Ali made a brisk 47, adding 72 runs for the sixth wicket. The target was eventually achieved with 49 balls to spare. When Lahore had batted, all five of Peshawar's bowlers took wickets to dismiss them for 161 in 42 overs. Eight Lahore batsmen got into double figures but only Farhan Asghar (36) made it past 20.
Group B
A century from Behram Khan and a five-for from Tabish Khan helped Karachi Zebras rout Multan Tigers by 201 runs at the National Stadium. Behram opened the innings for Karachi and scored 129 off 118 balls. He was supported by Saeed Bin Nasir, who made 57, but the rest of the batsmen failed. Karachi slipped from 209 for 2 and were dismissed for 265. Multan's innings suffered from run-outs in the top order and Tabish in the middle order. Three batsmen were run out before Tabish ripped through the line-up and finished with figures of 5 for 28. Multan were shot out for 64 in 18.3 overs.
A solid all-round performance from Lahore Eagles set up a six-wicket victory against Hyderabad Hawks with 33 balls to spare at the Niaz Stadium. Asif Raza and Mohammad Irfan led the bowling effort, taking 2 for 34 and 3 for 36 respectively to limit Hyderabad to 215 for 8. Several Hyderabad batsmen made starts but Ayaz Jamali and Ghulam Yasin's 41 was the best score. Half-centuries from Muzaffar Mahboob and Abid Ali led Lahore's chase and the target was achieved in 44.3 overs.
