da cassino： A round-up of matches from the first day of the RBS one-day competition
da stake casino： Cricinfo staff11-Feb-2010Group A
Kashif Naved’s unbeaten 78, combined with steady contributions from the rest of Multan Tigers’ top and middle order, led them to a five-wicket victory with three overs to spare against Hyderabad Hawks at Niaz Stadium. Rizwan Haider struck 45 off 35 balls to provide the finishing touches to a confident chase of 256. Earlier, Aqeel Anjum anchored the Hyderabad innings with a steady 81 but they lost regular wickets to slump to 115 for 4. A couple of quick fire 20s from Mir Ali and Kashif Bhatti, at a strike-rate of over 200, raised the tempo towards the end.Quetta Bears’ bowlers did a magnificent job of defending a small total and secured a four-run win against Peshawar Panthers in Karachi. Khalil Ahmed was the star, scalping 4 for 34, but he was well supported by his team-mates, who struck regular blows while keeping the run-rate in check, and they succeeded in bowling Peshawar out for only 149 in 44.2 overs. The finish was tense because Hamad-ul-Hasan remained firm and steered Peshawar from 124 for 9 towards the target, before losing last man Bilal Khan in a run out. Earlier, Peshawar’s bowlers had also wrecked the Quetta innings, with Riaz Afridi (4 for 29) and Jibran Khan (3 for 35) doing most of the damage. Quetta were reduced to 1 for 3 and 19 for 4 before Taimur Khan’s unbeaten 55 in the middle order dragged them to 153.Group B
Younis Khan found form in Habib Bank’s first match of the RBS Cup against Sui Southern Gas Corporation, scoring an unbeaten 81 to lead his team to a seven-wicket victory in Lahore. Chasing SSGC’s 265, Younis had support from Saleem Elahi, who scored 67, after which he had an unbroken 150-run partnership with Hasan Raza, who contributed 76 off only 64 balls to finish the chase as early as the 44th over. There were three half-centurions in SSGC’s innings as well: the Pakistan Under-19 captain Azeem Ghumman top-scored with 66, while Wajid Ali and Rizwan Ahmed made 57 and 53. Sarmad Anwar took 3 for 60 for Habib Bank.The match between Khan Research Laboratories and National Bank of Pakistan was abandoned without a ball being bowled because of rain in Rawalpindi.Lahore Eagles’ fast bowlers ran through the Karachi Zebras batsmen in Lahore, setting up a 69-run win for their team. Mohammad Irshad claimed 4 for 39, while Emmad Ali and Mohammad Saeed took 2 for 48 and 3 for 28, to bowl out Karachi for 163 in the 38th over. Akbar Rehman top-scored for Karachi with 61 but had little support from the others. Lahore, too, had no major contributions from any of their batsmen but they scraped together 232 before being dismissed in the 49th over. Akbar Rehman impressed with the ball too for Karachi, taking 3 for 42, while Usama Basharat picked up 3 for 36.Group C
A solid batting performance from the Abbottabad Rhinos laid the foundation for their 88-run victory over Faisalabad Wolves at the Iqbal Stadium. Nine Abbottabad batsmen got into double figures with opener Mir Azam Khan setting the pace with an aggressive 61 off 38 balls. Captain Adnan Raees provided stability with a composed 52 off 89 balls, allowing his partners to bat with freedom. Fawad Khan also struck a quick half-century to lead Abbottabad to 314 for 8 in 50 overs. Farrukh Shahzad and Mohammad Salman made 60s during the chase and Faisalabad were well-placed at 166 for 2 at one stage. However, there were no more substantial contributions from the rest of the batsmen and they were eventually dismissed for 226 in the 47th over. Khalid Usman was the pick of Abbottabad’s bowlers with 3 for 32 off ten overs.Rawalpindi Rams prevailed in a rain-curtailed match against Islamabad Leopards, winning the 20-over contest at the Diamond Club Ground with five wickets in hand and nine balls to spare. Islamabad got off to a poor start after they were sent in, losing one opener with the score on 2 and the other on 6. Ali Sarfraz, the No. 3 batsman, scored 45 off 31 balls and the innings received another useful contribution from Zohaib Ahmed, who made 33. Chasing a target of 149, Rawalpindi slumped to 43 for 5 – Shahzad Azam took 3 for 17 – before Adnan Mufti scored 47 off 34 balls and Usman Saeed 46 off 34 to repair the innings and set up the win.Four half-centuries – two steady, two rapid – led Sialkot Stallions to 310 for 6 against Lahore Lions, a total which their bowlers defended with ease at the Jinnah Stadium. Majid Jahangir made 58 off 79 and Mohammad Ayub 64 off 80 and their innings laid the base for Shahzad and Adeel Malik. Shahzad clubbed 80 off 66 and Adeel 70 off 49, lifting the pace towards the end of the innings. During the chase, opener Sohail Ahmed scored 81 to lead Lahore to a position of strength – 123 for 1 – before the middle order crumbled. They lost five wickets for 26 runs and were eventually dismissed for 231 in the 49th over.Group D
Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited needed only 30 overs to chase down the target of 179 set by Pakistan Customs, and did so with six wickets in hand in Lahore. Pakistan Customs had made a sound start – their openers added 55 – before they were jolted when three wickets fell for the addition of one run. A 25-run stand followed for the fourth wicket before three more wickets fell in a hurry once again, this time for the addition of two runs. Aamer Yamin scored 43 to steer Pakistan Customs from 83 for 6 to 178 before the last wicket fell in the 45th over. Fifteen-year old Babar Azam led ZTBL’s chase, scoring 68 off 78 balls to ensure victory.Shoaib Malik’s run-a-ball 102 led Pakistan International Airlines to a match-winning total against Water and Power Development Authority in Bahawalpur. His innings, which contained eight fours and three sixes, along with half-centuries from Sarfraz Ahmed and Faisal Iqbal helped PIA post a challenging score of 318 for 5. WAPDA gave spirited chase, despite losing Jahangir Mirza for a first-ball duck, with Rafatullah Mohmand and Imranullah Aslam scoring 77 and 76. They added 151 for the second wicket but the innings lost direction after both fell in quick succession. No one in the middle and lower order weighed in and WAPDA were eventually dismissed for 287 with 17 balls to spare.
