KARACHI, April 4: Inspired by Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq’s fine batting shows Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) outplayed Lahore Eagles by 128 runs to qualify for the National One-day Cricket Cup semi-finals here on Friday.
Umar, younger brother of Pakistan wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, hit 81 and Misbah 68 as SNGPL posted 272 for nine while batting first against Lahore Eagles in the last Group ‘B’ Super Eight match.
The Eagles were bowled out for 144 in reply, to hand their rivals a big 128-run win.
After being asked to bat first, SNGPL lost three wickets for 71 runs before Umar (102 balls, six fours) and Misbah (79 balls, three fours and one six) revived their team’s hopes with a reviving partnership of 143. Lanky pace bowler Waqas Ahmed claimed three for 43.
The Eagles never looked like making a game of it after losing two wickets inside the first three overs. The pattern continued with the next six wickets falling before three-figure was reached.
The highest stand of the innings was 40 when Farhan Khan partnered top-scorer Ashraf Ali (35) for the ninth wicket.
Scoreboard
SNGPL:
M. Hafeez c A. Shahzad b Waqas 24
Yasir Arafat Jr run out 11
Azhar Shafiq b Waqas 22
Umar Akmal lbw b Sohail 81
Misbah-ul-Haq st Farhan b Kashif 68
Khurram Shahzad c Imran b Junaid 26
Imran Khalid st Farhan b Sohail 16
Adnan Akmal c Ashraf b Waqas 7
Imran Ali not out 4
Samiullah Niazi c A. Shahzad b Junaid 0
Asad Ali not out 1
EXTRAS (LB-3, W-9) 12
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 272
FALL OF WKTS: 1-27, 2-42, 3-71, 4-214,
5-219, 6-250, 7-262, 8-267, 9-267.
BOWLING: Junaid Zia 10-0-61-2 (5w); Waqas Ahmed 10-0-43-3 (1w); Sohail Ahmed 10-0-49-2 (1w); Kashif Shafi 10-0-46-1; Imran Haider 7-0-44-0; Shahab Basharat 3-0-26-0 (1w).
LAHORE EAGLES:
Ahmed Shahzad c Imran Ali b Asad 4
Ashfaq Ahmed c Misbah b Sami 0
Sohail Ahmed run out 1
Ali Haider b Sami 9
Junaid Zia c Asad b Imran Khalid 18
Shahab Basharat c Adnan b Imran Ali 14
Ashraf Ali c Sami b Khurram 35
Waqas Ahmed c Asad b Imran Ali 12
Kashif Shafi run out 11
Farhan Khan not out 14
Imran Haider st Adnan b Khurram 4
EXTRAS (LB-2, W-18, NB-2) 22
TOTAL (all out, 42 overs) 144
FALL OF WKTS: 1-7, 2-9, 3-20, 4-37, 5-53,
6-60, 7-78, 8-98, 9-138.
BOWLING: Samiullah Niazi 8-1-27-2 (1w); Asad Ali 8-0-32-1 (1nb, 6w); Imran Ali 10-1-40-2 (1nb, 1w); Imran Khalid 10-0-22-1 (1w); Mohammad Hafeez 4-0-9-0 (1w); Khurram Shahzad 2-0-12-2 (1w).
RESULT: SNGPL won by 128 runs.
UMPIRES: Ahmed Shahab and M. Akbar Khan.
MATCH REFEREE: Ishtiaq Ahmed.
MEN-OF-THE-MATCH: Umar Akmal and Waqas Ahmed.
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