ISLAMABAD - Rawalpindi Region Sunday almost guaranteed a place in the semifinals of the National One-Day Cup Regions 2017-18 Round Six after hammering mighty Faisalabad by 6 wickets here at Diamond ground.
Batting first, Faisalabad scored 228 for the loss of 9 wickets in allotted 50 overs. Raees Ahmed slammed 65 and Faheem Ashraf 54. It was Yasir Ali, who ripped through Faisalabad batting, by claiming 4-69 while Saad Altaf chipped in with 2-47. Boosted by arrival of Test discarded M Hafeez, Rawalpindi chased the target in 42.4 overs losing just four wickets. Hafeez hammered 64 with the help of 11 boundaries and two massive sixes while Iftikhar Ahmed made unbeaten 56 and Umer Amin 44. Asad Raza captured 2-47.
At KRL ground, Fata registered their first victory against Lahore Region Blues by 35 runs. Batting first, Fata posted 266 runs on the board for the loss of 9 wickets. Nisar Afridi was top scorer with 62 runs while Sohail Akhtar made 52 and Khush Dil Shah 45. Bilawal Iqbal bagged 4-34 while Salman Ali Agha and Aizaz Cheema got two wickets each.
Lahore Blues, in reply, were bowled out for 231 in 48.4 overs. M Saad scored 67 runs while Bilawal Iqbal hit 40 and Waqas Saleem 34. Meer Hamza was pick of the Fata bowlers as he captured 3-55 while Mukhtar Ahmed grabbed 3-61 and Khush Dil Shah 2-38.
At Pindi Stadium, Karachi Whites thrashed Islamabad by 86 runs. Batting first, Karachi posted massive 384 for the loss of 5 wickets. It was one of the breath-taking innings by openers Khurram Manzzoor and Asad Shafiq, who were involved in massive 268-run opening stand. Khurram thwarted 187 off 155 deliveries, as he smashed 22 fours and 3 towering sixes while Asad slammed 116-ball 145 runs, studded with 21 fours and 1 six. Akbar-Ur-Rehman contributed 35. Only Shahzad Azam Rana could bowl well for Islamabad as he claimed 3-85.
Chasing a mammoth total, Islamabad could score 298 for the loss of 7 wickets. Tail-ender Shahzad Azam Rana taught top order batsmen how to bat well as he smashed unbeaten 87 studded with 9 fours and 4 sixes while Nauman Ali contributed 74 runs, hitting 6 fours and 5 sixes. Opener Abid Ali scored 60. M Sami and Danish Aziz took two wickets each for 42 and 54 runs respectively.
At Arbab Niaz Stadium Peshawar, Peshawar Region outclassed Lahore Region Whites by 7 wickets. Batting first, White scored 281 for the loss of 9 wickets. Ahmed Shahzad posted stylish 104 while Rizwan 78 and Usman Sallahuddin unbeaten 60. Umar and Zohaib Khan took 2 wickets each.
Peshawar reached home in 46.2 overs losing just 3 wickets. Once again it was Sahibzada Farhan, who played sensational knock of 119 runs while he was ably assisted by M Rizwan, who struck unbeaten 64. Ali Shafique bagged 2 for 41.
SUMMARIZED SCORES:
AT PINDI CRICKET STADIUM, RAWALPINDI
KARACHI REGION WHITES: 384-5 in 50 overs: (Khurram Manzoor 187, 155 balls, 22x4s, 3x6s, Asad Shafiq 145, 116 balls, 21x4s, 1x6, Akbar-ur-Rehman 35, 26 balls, 4x4s, 1x6, Shahzad Azam 3-85)
ISLAMABAD REGION: 298-7 in 50 overs: (Shahzad Azam 87*, 74 balls, 9x4s, 4x6s, Nouman Ali 74, 47 balls, 6x4s, 5x6s, Abid Ali 60, 62 balls, 10x4s, Fahad Iqbal 29, 60 balls, 2x4s, Muhammad Sami 2-42, Danish Aziz 2-54)
AT KRL GROUND, RAWALPINDI
FATA REGION: 266-9 in 50 overs: (Nisar Afridi 62, 86 balls, 8x4s, Sohail Akhtar 52, 43 balls, 3x4s, 2x6s, Khushdil Shah 45, 52 balls, 1x4, 2x6s, Samiullah Jr. 33, 30 balls, 1x4, 1x6, Mukhtar Ahmed 26, 28 balls, 3x4s, Bilawal Iqbal 4-34, Salman Ali Agha 2-36, Aizaz Cheema 2-79)
LAHORE REGION BLUES: 231-10 in 48.4 overs: (Muhammad Saad 67, 99 balls, 7x4s, Bilawal Iqbal 40, 31 balls, 5x4s, Waqas Saleem 34, 58 balls, 2x4s, Salman Ali Agha 20, 28 balls, 1x4, Meer Hamza 3-55, Mukhtar Ahmed 3-61, Khushdil Shah 2-38)
AT DIAMOND GROUND, ISLAMABAD
FAISALABAD REGION: 228-9 in 50 overs: (Raees Ahmed 65, 72 balls, 5x4s, 1x6, Faheem Ashraf 54, 78 balls, 7x4s, Abdul Samad 35, 52 balls, 3x4s, Ali Shan 31*, 18 balls, 3x4s, 2x6s, Yasir Ali 4-69, Saad Altaf 2-47)
RAWALPINDI REGION: 229-4 in 42.4 overs: (Muhammad Hafeez 64, 66 balls, 11x4s, 2x6s, Iftikhar Ahmed 56*, 67 balls, 7x4s, Umar Amin 44, 59 balls, 6x4s, Saud Shakeel 33, 40 balls, 2x4s, Asad Raza 2-47)
AT ARBAB NIAZ SATDIUM, PESHAWAR
LAHORE REGION WHITES: 281-9 in 50 overs: (Ahmed Shahzad 104, 96 balls, 12x4s, Rizwan Hussain 78, 77 balls, 7x4s, 2x6s, Usman Sallahuddin 60*, 76 balls, 2x6s, Taj Wali 3-64, Adil Amin 2-33)
PESHAWAR REGION: 285-3 in 46.2 overs: (Sahibzada Farhan 119, 119 balls, 8x4s, 3x6s, Muhammad Rizwan 64*, 55 balls, 12x4s, Israrullah 56, 66 balls, 10x4s, Ashfaq Ahmed 43, 38 balls, 5x4s, 1x6, Ali Shafiq 2-40).