Asif and Moin guide PIA into semi-finals

Karachi, Sept 28: Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) defeated Pakistan National Shipping Corporation (PNSC) by three wickets to qualify for the semi-finals of the National One-day Championship from Pool A.

At the Defence Stadium, before a moderate crowd and in a pleasant weather, Wasim Akram's men overhauled PNSC's score of 194 for seven with 21 balls to spare.

The victory left PIA unbeaten from Pool A. They are now likely to face defending champions Allied Bank for a place in the final which is billed as an explosive clash between the two best teams of the country.

Amidst outstanding performances from the Test players from both sides, it was teenager Faisal Iqbal who stole the limelight.

The 17-year-old batsman showed a lot of guts, courage and mental toughness to bravely face Wasim Akram and company to score a fluent, chanceless and attractive 48. He faced 71 balls and struck a flawless six off off-spinner Shoaib Malik. He was dismissed when he attempted to hit out in an effort to accelerate the scoring.

Faisal, who led Pakistan Under-14 in the Lombard World Cup in England in 1996 and later represented the country in Under-19 and A teams, timed the ball perfectly. The most encouraging part of Faisal's batting was his ability to find gaps. He nudged and pushed the ball to keep the scoreboard moving as boundaries came hard against highly professional and experienced PIA bowlers.

This youngster has shown immense talent. Not all the batsmen in the world find themselves when Wasim Akram is bowling at full throttle. But at the Defence Stadium, there was a boy who tackled Akram watchfully and moved his feet as prescribed in text books. In all probability, a star is born and it is just a matter of time when he will dominate the circuit like his great uncle, Javed Miandad.

Reverting to the proceedings of the match, PIA, set a run-rate under four runs an over, found themselves in trouble when they were restricted to 83 for four in 25 overs. It soon became 108 for five in 33 overs before Asif Mujtaba and Moin Khan got their acts together.

The two featured in an almost run-a-ball 51-run sixth wicket stand to inch PIA close to victory. And though the winners lost Mujtaba and Azhar Mahmood (7), Moin Khan ensured that the target was achieved without further damage.

Moin Khan slammed a quickfire unbeaten 53 off 41 balls. His innings included four punishing boundaries and a six.

Asif Mujtaba hit a typical innings of 54 off 76 balls with five boundaries.

Other major contributors were openers Rizwanuz Zaman whose 26 came off 45 balls and included four hits to the fence. Shoaib Mohammad contributed 26 from 66 balls with a solitary boundary.

The biggest disappointment from spectators point of view was the cheap dismissal of Yousuf Youhana. Youhana lasted for three balls in his debut game for PIA before being run-out in a terrible mix-up with Shoaib. Shoaib, after pushing the ball, set off for an impossible single leaving Youhana to sacrifice his wicket for a much experienced and senior player.

Earlier, PNSC, put into bat, crawled to 194 for seven from 50 overs. Besides teenager Faisal Iqbal, Test opener Mohammad Ramazan hit an elegant but slow 50 that consumed 105 balls. His innings included just one boundary. He shared in an 81-run second wicket stand off 123 balls with Faisal Iqbal.

Kashif Ahmad contributed 24 while Iqbal Imam scored 26.

Asif Mujtaba was the pick of PIA bowler with three for 40. He later scored 54 to earn a well-deserved Man-of-the-Match award.

Wasim Akram, though remained wicketless, generated a good speed on a flat track. He beat the bat on several occasions only to finish with none for 18 from eight overs. Off-spinner Shoaib Malik once again bowled decently to bag two for 40 while Azhar Mahmood and Nadeem Khan snapped one wicket each.