Alams's heroics can't deny Sialkot Stallions

Sialkot Stallions 151 (Imran Nazir 46, Fawad Alam 5-27) beat Karachi Dolphins 137 for 7 (Fawad Alam 54) by 14 runs
Scorecard

The fast emerging talented young cricketer Fawad Alam swept away most of the individual awards on a night to remember, but he still couldn't help his team Karachi Dolphins win the Twenty20 Cup final, as they were defeated by 14 runs by defending champions Sialkot Stallions at the National Stadium.

Playing without their skipper Shahid Afridi, who had proceeded to perform the Haj, the Dolphins were visibly depleted but they did well to bowl the Stallions out for 151 in their 20 overs, after having asked them to bat in the day/night encounter.

But in spite of the left-handed Fawad's heroics, the Dolphins fell short by 14 runs in the end, scoring 137 for 7 by the time their overs ran out. With his left-arm slows Fawad first took 5 for 27 in his four overs and then hit a 43-ball 54, with three fours and a six, playing on for a while after having suffered from severe cramps and batting with a runner.

The Stallions retained the title they won in 2005-06 also and bagged the glittering trophy and a whopping cash award of a million rupees. The Dolphins were still richer by Rs 500,000 as the runners-up.

The 21-year-old Fawad was not only declared Man of the Match but also named Man of the Series. In addition, he won both the Best Batsman and Best Bowler prizes. All awards were worth Rs 25,000 each. Mohammad Salman of Faisalabad Wolves was declared the tournament's Best Wicketkeeper and fast bowler Mohammad Asif of Sialkot Stallions clinched the Best Fielder award.

Sialkot were off to an 80 runs start in 8.4 overs but their last seven wickets fell for 35 runs in 28 balls. Imran Nazir hit 46 off 31 balls with seven fours and a six while Shoaib Malik made 31 off 23 balls with a four and two sixes.

When the Dolphins batted, they just couldn't build up the tempo as the Sialkot bowlers kept them in check. As many as 23 runs were needed in the last over but three wickets fell while Tahir Mughal bowled very intelligently.