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KARACHI, March 4: Faisalabad Wolves, inspired by Samiullah Niazi’s excellent seam bowling, made light work of star-studded Lahore Lions to move into the final of the Twenty20 Cup cricket championship with a six-wicket victory on Friday.
The Wolves were defending their crown against the formidable Sialkot Stallions in a late-start final under lights at the National Stadium on Saturday.
The previously unbeaten Lions never got going in the second semifinal after the Stallions had earlier easily seen off last season’s runners-up Karachi Dolphins by 29 runs in the first semifinal.
Having elected to bat after Test all-rounder Abdul Razzaq won the toss, the Lions lost wickets at regular intervals and curtailed to 149 for nine.
Pakistan stalwart Mohammad Yousuf, Razzaq and Test reject Taufiq Umar were the only batsmen to reach 20.
Yousuf stroked two boundaries in scoring 30 off 27 deliveries in an inning during which he was handicapped by a leg injury.
He was adjudged stumped when his Pakistan team-mate Kamran Akmal, acting as the runner, casually strolled out of the crease line. Mohammad Salman, the Wolves wicket-keeper, noted the lapse on Kamran’s part and swiftly whipped off the bails to Yousuf’s great disappointment.
Taufiq (25 off 21 balls, four fours) and Razzaq (20 off 22 balls, two fours) were bowled in identical fashion as they went for ambitious strokes while moving away to the leg-side against off-spinners Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez, respectively.
Man-of-the-Match Sami was superb in this form of unconventional cricket and played a crucial role in preventing the Lions from reaching a bigger total. He sent back Shahnawaz Malik with a smart return catch, Zulqarnain Haider and Imran Tahir to finish with three for 21 in the four-over quota.
Slow left-armer Imran Khalid bagged two for 24, including the prized scalp of Yousuf while medium-pacer Tauqir Hussain removed Kamran Akmal for only seven runs.
The Wolves lost an early wicket in Wasim Khan’s opening over, but Asif Hussain (34 off 20 balls, four fours and two sixes) and Salman (26 off 38 balls, two fours) added 56 inside eight overs to ensure the Lions stay on the back foot.
Skipper Misbahul Haq and Naved Latif, both ex-Test men, saw the Wolves home with 13 balls to spare. Misbah looked calm and composed in striking seven boundaries in making a 30-ball 44 while Naved slammed three fours in his 11-ball 16.
Scoreboard
LAHORE LIONS:
Taufiq Umar b Saeed 25
Shahnawaz Malik c and b Sami 19
Kamran Akmal c Khurram b Tauqir 7
Abdul Razzaq b Hafeez 20
Mohammad Yousuf st Salman b Imran 30
Rashid Riaz run out 12
Zulqarnain Haider b Sami 8
Shahzad Butt lbw b Imran 0
Imran Tahir c Salman b Sami 1
Wasim Khan not out 2
Wahab Riaz not out 5
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-11, W-7) 20
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 20 overs) 149
FALL OF WKTS: 1-20, 2-50, 3-74, 4-91, 5-126, 6-131, 7-131, 8-141, 9-142.
BOWLING: Samiullah Niazi 4-0-21-3 (2w); Ahmed Hayat 1-0-18-0; Tauqir Hussain 3-0-25-1 (1w); Saeed Ajmal 4-0-24-1 (2w); Mohammad Hafeez 4-0-24-1 (1w); Imran Khalid 4-0-24-2 (1w).
FAISALABAD WOLVES:
Mohammad Hafeez c Razzaq b Wasim 8
Asif Hussain c Imran b Razzaq 34
Mohammad Salman c Wahab b Shahzad 26
Misbahul Haq not out 44
Khurram Shahzad c and b Shahzad 6
Naved Latif not out 16
EXTRAS (LB-5, W-7, NB-4) 16
TOTAL (for four wkts, 17.5 overs) 150
FALL OF WKTS: 1-8, 2-64, 3-104, 4-114.
DID NOT BAT: Ahmed Hayat, Tauqir Hussain, Imran Khalid, Samiullah Niazi, Saeed Ajmal.
BOWLING: Wasim Khan 3-0-32-1; Abdul Razzaq 4-0-26-1 (1w); Imran Tahir 4-0-22-0 (2w); Taufiq Umar 2-0-19-0; Shahzad Butt 2.5-0-28-2 (1nb, 2w); Wahab Riaz 2-0-18-0 (1nb, 2w).
UMPIRES: Afzaal Ahmed and Salim Badar.
TV UMPIRE: Rasheed Bhatti.
MATCH REFEREE: Abdul Sami Khan.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Samiullah Niazi.
