KARACHI, April 2: A brilliant unbeaten century from Habib Bank captain Younis Khan failed to prevent SNGPL from pulling off a thrilling seven-run win in the Super Eight Group ‘B’ match at the National Stadium here on Wednesday.
Younis, the star Pakistan batsman, made a stylish 110, but his heroics went in vain as SNGPL kept their hopes of reaching the semi-finals alive.
Needing 13 runs off the final over – bowled by left-arm paceman Samiullah Niazi – the bankers could manage only five in what proved to be an absorbing tussle between two star-studded outfits.
A defeat for SNGPL here would have straightaway put Habib Bank and PIA into the last-four stage from this pool. Now the bankers must not only win against the national carrier on Friday in the last round of matches, but at the same time also hope that Lahore Eagles help their cause by thwarting SNGPL’s bid to qualify.
After electing to bat first, SNGPL posted 277 for eight in their 50 overs with major contributions coming from skipper Mohammad Hafeez (69 off 91 balls, five fours) and the left-handed Azhar Shafiq (80 off 89 balls, 10 boundaries).
The pair shared the biggest partnership of the match as they added 130 for the second wicket after Yasir Arafat Junior had perished for one in the second over of the day.
Umar Akmal (34 off 34 balls), Khurram Shahzad (29) and Imran Khalid (22) also made useful runs. The disappointment for SNGPL was the failure of Misbah-ul-Haq. The Pakistan vice-captain scored just six before offering a return catch to Abdul Rehman, who ended up with three for 51.
Fellow slow left-armer Aslam Qureshi also claimed three wickets, while Shahid Afridi bowled economically (0-47 in 10 overs).
Habib Bank, in reply, found the going tough as the top three batsmen were out with only 58 on the board. However, Younis and Aftab Khan then came together to put on 105 before the latter was trapped LBW by slow left-armer Imran Khalid for a 76-ball 49, a knock that included a brace of sixes.
Afridi lasted only five balls before Hafeez had caught for 11. Rehman went for a duck, providing his second wicket.
But Younis, who faced 109 balls and four fours and two sixes, soldiered on and brought up his first century of the tournament with a six. Farhan Iqbal (28) supported his skipper admirably from the other end as the partnership yielded 88 runs. However, in the end, SNGPL held onto their nerves.
Scoreboard
SNGPL:
M. Hafeez st Farhan b Rehman 69
Yasir Arafat Jr c Farhan b Sajid 1
Azhar Shafiq c Younis b Aslam 80
Umar Akmal c Sajid b Rehman 34
Misbah-ul-Haq c and b Rehman 6
Khurram Shahzad lbw b Umar Gul 29
Tauqir Hussain c Farhan b Aslam 8
Imran Khalid c Younis b Aslam 22
Adnan Akmal not out 6
Samiullah Niazi not out 7
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-4, NB-9) 15
TOTAL (for eight wkts, 50 overs) 277
FALL OF WKTS: 1-7, 2-137, 3-196, 4-201,
5-208, 6-229, 7-245, 8-268.
DID NOT BAT: Asad Ali.
BOWLING: Umar Gul 6-0-36-1 (1nb, 1w); Sajid Shah 5-0-28-1 (3nb, 2w); Fahad Masood 6-0-39-0; Kamran Hussain 3-0-18-0 (2nb); Shahid Afridi 10-0-47-0 (3nb); Aslam Qureshi 10-0-56-3 (1w); Abdul Rehman
10-0-51-3.
HABIB BANK:
Riffatullah Mohmand b Asad 30
Sajid Shah run out 13
Kamran Hussain c Adnan b Asad 10
Younis Khan not out 110
Aftab Khan lbw b Imran 49
Shahid Afridi c Yasir b Hafeez 11
Abdul Rehman b Hafeez 0
Farhan Iqbal not out 28
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-3, W-13, NB-2) 19
TOTAL (for six wkts, 50 overs) 270
FALL OF WKTS: 1-44, 2-57, 3-58, 4-163, 5-174, 6-182.
DID NOT BAT: Fahad Masood, Aslam Qureshi, Umar Gul.
BOWLING: Samiullah Niazi 9-0-47-0; Asad Ali 10-0-39-2 (2nb, 3w); Tauqir Hussain
10-0-74-0 (2w); Mohammad Hafeez 10-0-42-2 (2w); Imran Khalid 9-0-50-1 (2w); Khurram Shahzad 2-0-14-0.
RESULT: SNGPL won by seven runs.
UMPIRES: Mian Aslam and M. Akbar Khan.
TV UMPIRE: Afzaal Ahmed.
MATCH REFEREE: Ilyas Khan.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Younis Khan.
Dear visitor, the comments section is undergoing an overhaul and will return soon.