Lahore Lions crash to embarassing defeat
A round-up of the second days' action of the One-Day National Cup Division Two matches
ESPNcricinfo staff
29-Feb-2012
Group A
Lahore Lions were routed for 81, owing to a combined bowling performanc, led by the right-arm seamer Asad Ali at the Lahore City Cricket Association Ground. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) finished the chase in just 11.1 overs to register their maiden win in the tournament. Early strikes by Asad and Imran Ali left the Lions tottering at 5 for 5. Farhan Asghar and Saad Nasim were the only players to pass 20. Asad finished with the best figures of 4 for 14, while the other three bowlers took two wickets apiece. The SNGPL openers Ali Waqas and Imran Ali (the opener) ensured they attained the target without any loss of wickets.
A half-century by Musadiq Ahmed and a five-wicket haul by Mohammad Fayyaz set up Peshawar Panthers' 28-run win over Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) in Peshawar. Musadiq hit 66 off 96 balls with five fours to take the Panthers to 227. Mohammad Irfan took 3 for 35. KRL began their chase steadily, taking the score to 100 for 2. But the Panthers hit back, taking four wickets for 29 runs. Bazid Khan was the top scorer with 60 but was dismissed by Fayyaz, who ran through the middle and lower order to finish with 5 for 26 off six overs, his maiden five-for in domestic one-dayers.
Group B
A century by Bismilliah Khan set up Quetta Bears' 140-run victory against Multan Tigers in Karachi. Bismilliah scored 142 off 141 balls and was supported by Abid Ali, who made 73, in an opening stand of 177. Quetta finished on 326 for 5 in 50 overs, the only wicket-taker for Multan being Haziq Habibullah, who claimed 4 for 64. Multan floundered in their chase, and collapsed from 109 for 2 to 186 all out in 39.5 overs. Mohibullah took 3 for 19 and Arun Lal 3 for 36 for Quetta. Moinuddin and Maqbool Ahmed top scored with 40 each for Multan, woefully inadequate contributions when chasing such a tall target.
Lahore Eagles restricted Karachi Zebras to a below-par 199 for 9 and completed a five-wicket victory at the National Stadium. Lahore struck early and repeatedly after winning the toss, reducing Karachi to 69 for 5, before the lower-order batsmen rallied and prolonged the innings until the 50th over. The opener Behram Khan top scored with 71, the next best being Sohail Khan's 39 at No. 9. Lahore stumbled from 50 for 0 to 63 for 3 in their chase but Rana Adnan cored 58 and Usman Salahuddin 42 to take their team towards victory. The target was achieved with nine overs to spare.
