World Of Cricket

Asif ali and Misbah-ul-Haq helped Faislabad wolves to post a challenging total of 158 against the defending champions Sialkot Stallions in the final of Faysal Bank Super-8 T20.

Misbah-ul-Haq scored 38 not out in the final of Faysal Bank super 8-t20 © Associated Press

The winner of today’s final will be playing in Champions league later this year. Misbah’s Faisalabad wolves will start as favourite going into the second innings of Faysal Bank Super 8-t20 final but Shoaib Malik’s Sialkot Stallions can never be underestimated as it is the most successful domestic t20 side of Pakistan.

Earliar Misbah won the toss and decided to bat first but Sialkot started brilliantly as Malik bowled economically upfront, Sialkot kept Faislabad’s runrate under control for most part of the game but the partnership between Asif and Misbah has swung the game in favour of Faisalabad.

Faisalabad had not the ideal of starts as they lost their openers for just 16 runs on the board, but after that Khurram Shehzad and Asif Ali helped Faislabad to crawl back into the game. Both initially struggled a bit against the spin of Sialkot but they played their shots once they got settled.

Khurram Shehzad and Asif Ali added 63 runs between them but finally the partnership was broken by Raza Hasan when he got rid of Khurram Shehzad. The wicket of Khurram Shehzad allowed the most successful batsman of the tournament Misbah-ul-Haq to join Asif Ali in the arena.

Misbah-ul-Haq got a golden oppurtunity early into his inning when he survived a close run out chance. But after that incident he never looked back and carried his brilliant form into this game.

Misbah and Asif Ali smashed Sialkot bowlers in later part of the game to get back into the match and they now have a firm grip on the match as Saeed Ajmal is also playing for Faisalabad who can make life difficult for Sialkot but Shoaib Malik’s side is capable of chasing this target and Shoaib Malik will be their key man.

Today Pakistani domestic t20 competition Faysal Bank Super-8 t20 has started in Lahore. In the first match of the tournament Faislabad Wolves came out as victorious against the underdogs Bhawalpur Stags.

Misbah-ul-Haq scored 22 not out in first match of Faysal bank t20 © AFP

Pakistan has just ended their tour of South Africa and their own domestic t20 tournament has started in Lahore. Misbah-ul-Haq should be praised for his  professionalism and determination as a player, he had only 8 hours for rest and he still decided that he would play the opening encounter against Bhawalpur.

The match started with Faisalabad winning the toss and choosing to bat first, and they started off in a great fashion. But on the other hand Faisalabad were also wary off Bhawalpur Stags. As Bhawalpur gave a tough fight in the last tournament.

Faisalabad while batting first posted a good total of 154. Almost every batsman chipped in for them. Top scorer was Ali Waqas with 39, while Misbah made 22 not out.

Bhawalpur was set a target off 155 but they disappointed their fans as they never got going, They could not even complete their full 20 overs and ended their innings at 91 for 8 giving Faisalabad a easy victory by 63 runs. Khurran Shehzad of Faisalabad picked up 4 wickets. He was also declared as the Man of the Match.

Karachi: Sialkot Stallions became the twenty20 champions for the sixth time when they defeated Rawalpindi Rams by ten runs after an interesting contest.

Sialkot Stallions - Champions of 'Faysal Bank T20 Cup 2011'

In a final that was tight until the last two overs, Sialkot’s 180 proved a little too much for Rawalpindi to chase at the National Stadium in Karachi, and Sialkot won the Faysal Bank T20 Cup for the sixth time.

Almost all Sialkot’s top-order batsmen contributed to their imposing total. The decisive over was the 19th in Rawalpindi’s chase, in which Raza Hasan conceded just four runs and took two wickets, to swing the match Sialkot’s way.

Sialkot chose to bat on a pitch that produced high scores through the tournament and made a quick start. Imran Nazir and Shakeel Ansar looted 13 runs off Soahil Tanvir’s first over, and after Nazir departed Ansar and Qaiser Abbas put together 85 for the second wicket.

Rawalpindi’s bowlers bowled full lengths, and Qaiser timed his drives sweetly. The pair took the score to 100 for 1 in the 12th over, but both batsmen fell in the space of five balls, to Awais Zia’s part-time offspin. Both went attempting big shots: Qaiser was stumped after charging down the track and Ansar chipped in the air to deep midwicket.

That brought Shoaib Malik and Shahid Yousuf together, fresh from a 127-run stand in the semi-finals against Lahore. Yousuf hit the first three balls of Zia’s next over into the off side for fours, and Malik continued the form he was in during his 88 not out against Lahore. Rawalpindi did well to concede just 10 runs off the last two overs, but 180 was a tough total to chase.

The chase got off to an explosive start, with Zia smacking five fours in the first over, and two sixes in the second. Zia’s innings was cut short on 32 off 13 balls, when he swept Hasan to deep square leg. While other bowlers struggled to concede fewer than seven runs an over, Hasan had figures of 4-0-11-2. He choked the runs by varying the flight and lengths of his deliveries while maintaining a tight line.

The rest of Sialkot’s bowlers weren’t as accurate and Rawalpindi’s opener Naved Malik picked his moments to attack. Rawalpindi managed to stay abreast of the required-rate for most of the chase but lost wickets regularly. When Naved was caught at deep midwicket for 67, Rawalpindi needed 36 off 23 balls with five wickets in hand.

In the 17th over, Hammad Azam smashed a six over long-on and lofted over extra-cover for four off consecutive balls. Nineteen were required off the last two overs, but it was Hasan that had had the final say, bowling a tight over to ensure a Sialkot win.

Winner: Sialkot won by 10 runs.

Man Of The Match: Raza Hasan (Sialkot Stallions)

Karachi: Champions of ‘Faysal Bank Super 8 T20 Cup’ Rawalpindi Rams outclassed Peshawar Panthers by 77 runs to reach the final of the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup.

Rawalpindi Rams won the toss and decided to bat first

Chasing 169 runs, Peshawar Panthers were bundled out for a mere total of 91 runs in 16 overs.

Except three batsmen – Rafatullah Mohmand (33), Gohar Ali (16) and Nauman Habib (10) – nobody could get into double figures for the Panthers.

Umar Amin and Hammad Azam captured three wickets each for 14 and 21 runs, respectively, while Mohammad Rameez got two wickets.

Earlier, Rawalpindi Rams were all out for 168 runs in 19.5 overs after captain Sohail Tanvir won the toss and elected to bat.

The main scorers of the Rams were Umar Amin (30), Sohail Tanvir (26), Naved Malik (25) and Babar Naeem (21).

Zohaib Khan with three wickets for 36 runs was the most successful bowler for the Panthers while Nauman Habib and Noor-ul-Amin took two wickets each.

Umar Amin was named ‘Player of the Match’ for the second straight time for his all round performance.

In the final to be played tomorrow, Rawalpindi Rams will fight to win the 2nd T20 title of the season against Sialkot Stallions, the five-time champions, who defeated Lahore Eagles by six wickets in the semi-finals.

Karachi: Shoaib Malik led from the front to take Sialkot Stallions into final of the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup 2011 here at the National Stadium on Saturday.

Shaoib Malik receiving 'Player of the Match' award

He showed great allround abilities by capturing two wickets, taking a catch besides being involved in a run out and later smashed unbeaten 88 runs from 49 balls, cracking three towering sixes and nine fours. Later, he was deservedly declared man-of-the-match.

Chasing 168 runs, the Stallions completed their six-wicket victory with seven balls spared to qualify for playing the final where they will make a bid to win the title for the sixth time.

No other batsman, except Shahid Yousuf (49), gave any support to Shoaib in achieving the target.

Shoaib and Shahid made 127 runs for the third wicket stand after the Stallions lost both their openers for only nine runs at the board.

Earlier, Lahore Eagles were all out for 167 runs in 19.3 overs after captain Taufeeq Umar won the toss and decided to bat.

Openers Imran Farhat and Taufiq Umar provided them a solid start of 86 runs but other batsmen could not build up a big score on this foundation as only three batsmen could get into double figures.

Imran hit 73 off 44 balls with eleven fours and a six while Taufiq made 33 from 20 balls with six For Sialkot Stallions, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan and Shoaib Malik claimed two wickets each.

Karachi: Peshawar Panthers stunned Karachi Dolphins to get a semi-final berth in the Faysal Bank National Twenty20 Cup 2011 here at the National Stadium. Zohaib Khan was named ‘Player of the Match’ for his outstanding performance.

It was Karachi Dolphins v Peshawar Panthers | Afridi v Gul

The Panthers, led by fast-medium bowler Umar Gul, won by 29 runs as the Dolphins captained by all-rounder Shahid Afridi could not chase the huge target of 178 runs despite a brave knock of 37 runs by wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed and were restricted to148-9.

Earlier, Peshawar Panthers made 177 runs for seven wickets in the allotted 20 overs after they won the toss and decided to bat first.

Zohaib Khan top scored with an unbeaten 43 made off only 23 balls. He smashed three fours and two sixes.

He was followed by Rafatullah Mohmand (42) and Mohammad Fayyaz (39).

For Karachi Dolphins, Faraz Ahmed, captain Shahid Afridi and Rumman Raees claimed two wickets each.

Shahid Afridi in the presentation ceremony congratulated Umar Gul and Peshawar for playing such a nice cricket and winning the game and asked Karachites to continue coming for the semi-finals and final.

Umar Gul said that don’t underestimate us, no one is favourite in a T20 game, whoever perform will win the game. Our team performed good in batting, bowling and fielding. If we’ll do this again tomorrow then we can beat Rawalpindi Rams. Our chances are bright. He then thanks the crowd for their continuous support.