KARACHI, March 20: PIA opened their National ABN-Amro One-day Cup campaign in style when they outclassed Karachi Dolphins by eight wickets in the Group ‘D’ fixture at the National Stadium on Thursday.

After bowling out the Dolphins for 245 in 50 overs, PIA eased to victory with 22 balls to spare. Fahad Iqbal, younger brother of Test batsman Faisal, who is leading PIA in the absence of Shoaib Malik, led the charge with an unbeaten 92 off 89 deliveries.

Fahad, who struck 10 fours and one six, dominated the unbroken third-wicket partnership of 163 with Kamran Sajid (69 off 88 balls, five fours).

Earlier, skipper Shadab Kabir, the former Test opener, top-scored for the Dolphins with a 77-ball 66.

In the same group, ZTBL trounced Abbottabad Rhinos by 205 runs after bundling the regional side for a paltry 61 at the NBP Sports Complex.

Opener Inam-ul-Haq (71 off 82 balls, 11 fours) and Wajahatullah Wasti (72 off 84 balls, four fours and two sixes) were leading scorers for ZTBL.

Rawalpindi Rams, meanwhile, pulled off a thrilling one-wicket win over SSGC at Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad after openers Umar Amin (51) and Babar Naeem (56) laid a solid 120-run foundation.

Summarised scores:

At National Stadium, Karachi: PIA beat Karachi Dolphins by eight wickets.

KARACHI DOLPHINS 245 in 49 overs (Shadab Kabir 66, Faraz Patel 39, Shaharyar Ghani 34, Akbar Rehman 33; Kamran Sajid 2-35, Fazle Akbar 2-40, Imran Ali Pasha 2-44, Anwar Ali 2-56); PIA 249-2 in 46.2 overs (Fahad Iqbal 92 not out, Kamran Sajid 69 not out, Yasir Hameed 46, Khurram Manzoor 33).

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: ZTBL beat Abbottabad Rhinos by 205 runs.

ZTBL 266-9 in 50 overs (Wajahatullah Wasti 72, Inam-ul-Haq 71, Adnan Raza 42; Amjad Waqas 3-45, Sajjad Ali 2-56); ABBOTTABAD RHINOS 61 in 26 overs (Inam-ul-Haq 2-5, Rao Iftikhar 2-20, Imran Sabir 2-31).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: Rawalpindi Rams beat SSGC by one wicket.

SSGC 244-8 in 50 overs (Mohtashim Ali 90 not out, Mohammad Zafar 51, Saeed bin Nasir 33; Mohammad Aamir 3-35); RAWALPINDI RAMS 245-9 in 49 overs (Babar Naeem 56, Umar Amin 51; Sohail Khan 3-46, Adnan Malik 3-49, Rajesh Ramesh 2-57).

Our Sports Reporter adds from Lahore: Despite a superb 156 by their skipper Khalid Latif, Karachi Zebras went down by five wickets in a high-scoring Group ‘C’ clash at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Khalid smashed 14 fours and four sixes to help the Zebras post a formidable 291-9 after losing the toss.

The Eagles, however, raced to victory thanks to an unfinished 111-run stand between Arsalan Mir (73 off 68 balls, seven fours) and skipper Junaid Zia (59 off 37 balls, six fours and two sixes).

Junaid had earlier also excelled with the ball by claiming 4-46.

An unbeaten 122 off 120 (10 fours and one six) by Fawad Alam guided National Bank to a three-wicket win against Pakistan Customs in Faisalabad.

In Group ‘B’, Hyderabad Hawks beat Multan Tigers by seven wickets in Sheikhupura with Faisal Athar scoring 98 off 90 balls with 13 fours and three sixes.

In the same group, Tariq Aziz (78 off 104 balls, 10 fours) and Aamir Sajjad (78 off 105 balls, five fours and two sixes) shared a stand of 149 to help Wapda defeat Sialkot Stallions by eight wickets in Sialkot.

Summarised scores:

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: Lahore Eagles beat Karachi Zebras by five wickets.

KARACHI ZEBRAS 291-9 in 50 overs (Khalid Latif 156, Wasim Naeem 56, Daniyal Ahsan 32; Junaid Zia 4-46, Sohail Ahmed 2-58); LAHORE EAGLES 292-5 in 46.3 overs (Arsalan Mir 73 not out, Junaid Zia 59 not out, Ashfaq Ahmed 37, Ashraf Ali 37, Kashif Siddique 34, Ali Haider 34; Fahad Khan 3-60).

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: National Bank beat Pakistan Customs by three wickets.

PAKISTAN CUSTOMS 271-9 in 50 overs (Imran Qadir 57, Asif Iqbal 47, Hasnain Abbas 42; Qaiser Abbas 4-45, Irfanuddin 2-39); NATIONAL BANK 276-7 in 49.3 overs (Fawad Alam 122 not out, Kamran Akmal 62; Sajjad Hussain 2-46, Hamid Hasan 2-47).

At Sheikhupura Stadium: Hyderabad Hawks beat Multan Tigers by seven wickets.

MULTAN TIGERS 217 in 50 overs (Hammad Tariq 68, Zulfiqar Babar 31 not out; Nauman Ali 3-26, Rizwan Ahmed 2-34); HYDERABAD HAWKS 218-3 in 39.5 overs (Faisal Athar 98, Aqeel Anjum 44).

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: Wapda beat Sialkot Stallions by eight wickets.

SIALKOT STALLIONS 219 in 48.5 overs (Naeemuddin 76; Sarfraz Ahmed 4-39); WAPDA 220-2 in 45.2 overs (Tariq Aziz 78 not out, Aamir Sajjad 78 not out, Ahmed Said 35).

Sports Reporter adds from Islamabad: Opener Umair Khan played a sterling knock of 109 as Islamabad Leopards defeated Peshawar Panthers by four wickets in the Group ‘A’ match at the Diamond Club Ground.

Umair struck 13 fours during his 134-ball innings. Naeem Anjum (53) and Rauf Akbar (41) added 94 for the unbroken seventh-wicket stand as the Leopards reached their target by making 258-6 in 48.2 overs.

Earlier, all-rounder Raheel Majeed claimed 4-47 as the Panthers were dismissed for 255.

An unbeaten 106 from Azhar Ali inspired KRL to a 107-run victory over Lahore Lions at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi.

Azhar, who faced only 89 balls, stroked six fours and four sixes. Opener Saeed Anwar Junior blasted 10 boundaries and a six to score 71.

Saeed then took three for 28 as the Lions crashed to 181 all out in the 38th over.

A blazing 84 off just 27 deliveries by mercurial Pakistan all-rounder and Habib Bank skipper Shahid Afridi helped his side beat Quetta Bears by five wickets in Peshawar. His savage knock contained eight fours and seven sixes.

Summarised scores:

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Islamabad Leopards beat Peshawar Panthers by four wickets.

PESHAWAR PANTHERS 255 in 49.5 overs (Nawaz Ahmed 56, Usman Zaib 42, Mohammad Fayyaz 36; Raheel Majeed 4-47, Ashar Zaidi 2-25); ISLAMABAD LEOPARDS 258-6 in 48.2 overs (Umair Khan 109, Naeem Anjum 53 not out, Rauf Akbar 41 not out; Mohammad Fayyaz 2-39, Akbar Badshah 2-44).

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: KRL beat Lahore Lions by 107 runs.

KRL 288-3 in 50 overs (Azhar Ali 106 not out, Saeed Anwar Jr 71, Bazid Khan 45, Mohammad Wasim 34); LAHORE LIONS 181 in 37.2 overs (Asif Khan 39, Haroon Rasheed 32; Saeed Anwar Jr 3-28, Yasir Arafat 2-22, Saeed Ajmal 2-25, Akhtar Ayub 2-51).

At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar: Habib Bank beat Quetta Bears by five wickets.

QUETTA BEARS 213 in 48.5 overs (Naseem Khan 62, Shoaib Khan 50, Faisal Irfan 46 not out; Abdul Rehman 4-37, Fahad Masood 2-15); HABIB BANK 214-5 in 28.2 overs (Shahid Afridi 84, Khaqan Arsal 38, Salman Qadir 37 not out; Nazar Hussain 2-56).