LAHORE-Luc Martin Benkenstein produced a magnificent 71 off 37 balls (8 fours, 3 sixes) to spearhead Gwadar Sharks’ march into the Pakistan Junior League final after defeating Bahawalpur Royals by 8 wickets in the tournament’s Qualifier 1 here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday night. 
Benkenstein’s innings helped Sharks make light work of the 140-run chase after a below-par batting performance by the Royals. The right-hander added 76 runs in the match-winning second-wicket partnership with wicketkeeper M Zulkifal that paved the way for Sharks chase without any major hiccups. 
Zulkifal hammered 51 off 44 balls (4 fours, 1 six). The right-hander finished the game in company of Danial Ibrahim (12*) with 10 balls to spare. The two added 46 runs in their unbroken third-wicket partnership amid some sloppy fielding and catching by Royals who endured a real off-day. Sharks will now face the winner of Thursday’s Qualifier 2 in the tournament final a day later. 
Royals were jolted early in their innings by a fiery opening spell by M Ismail, who dismissed Tayyab Arif for a first-ball duck with a brilliant away swinging delivery. Basit Ali (20) then fell attempting a big shot off Ismail with Haseeb Nazim taking the catch at mid-on. The Sharks tightened their grip with the wicket of wicketkeeper Shawaiz Irfan (5) which left Royals at 49-3 in 6.5 overs. 
Skipper Obaid Shahid was the fourth batter to fall as he was run out for 21 in the 11th over. The Royals only reached their eventual total of 139-7 due to a 54-run fifth-wicket stand between M Danish (33 off 31, 2 fours, 1 six) and Farhan Yousaf (30 off 24 balls, 3 fours). Ismail conceded mere 10 runs to take three crucial wickets. Arafat Minhas, Aftab Ahmed and M Shoaib got one wicket each. In today’s (Wednesday) Eliminator, Rawalpindi Raiders will play Mardan Warriors while the winners will take on Royals in Qualifier 2 for the second spot in Friday’s tournament final.

Scores in brief

GWADAR SHARKS 141-2, 18.2 overs (Luc Martin Benkenstein 71, M Zulkifal 51*; Nathan Edaward 1-18) beat BAHAWALPUR ROYALS 139-7, 20 overs (M Danish 33, Farhan Yousaf 30; M Ismail 3-10) by 8 wickets.