Aamir Sohail leads ABL to victory over Sargodha

Lahore, Sept 24: Hitting an enterprising knock of 83 off 97 balls, opener Aamir Sohail led Allied Bank (ABL) to an emphatic eight-wicket win over Sargodha Division in the National One-Day Cricket Championship Pool "C" match at the Qadhafi Stadium on Friday evening.

The Sargodha Division team had earlier, scored 176 for seven in its quota of 50 overs. Facing a modest target of 177 for a win, the ABL side hit 178 for the loss of two wickets in 36.5 overs, thanks mainly to a brilliant first-wicket partnership of 137 runs on 166 balls between the Test openers Aamir Sohail and Wajahtullah Wasti.

Aamir Sohail hit a big six and seven elegant boundaries in his knock of 83.

Wajahtullah Wasti also hit a big six and a four in his score of 38. He faced 70 balls. Wasti was caught by Muhammad Shafiq at square-leg off an off-break from Tariq Munir.

Earlier captain Muhammad Hasnain won the toss and opted to bat first on an easy-paced pitch. However, the Sargodha Division failed to take advantage and made only 176 runs for the loss of seven wickets in its quota of 50 overs.

If opener Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Khan had not added 86 valuable runs for the second wicket partnership, the Sargodha side would have been bundled out for a poorer total. Kamran Khan top-scored with a good knock of 39 on 68 balls, studded with four boundaries. Opener Misbah-ul-Haq hit two big sixes and as many fours in his score of 37, collected on 87 balls.

Arshad Khan finished with three wickets, including the scalp of Azhar Husain (36 on 64 deliveries).