LAHORE, Nov 27: Debutants Pakistan Television (PTV) caused a huge upset on the opening day of the Faysal Bank T20 Cup for departmental teams when they overcame fancied National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) by seven wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Wednesday.

Chasing a difficult target of 167 against a strong NBP bowling that included Wahab Riaz, Hammad Azam and Raza Hasan, PTV kept their nerves to win the game with two balls to spare, thanks to brilliant half-centuries by opener Haroon Ahmed (64) and Zeeshan Mushtaq (66).

PTV lost other opener Nawaz Ahmed for seven with the total on nine when he was clean bowled by slow left-armer Raza, who bowled the first over of the innings.

But the left-handed Haroon and Zeeshan built the innings by adding 102 runs. Zeeshan, however, fell to Hammad for a solid 66 off 47 balls which was laced with five towering sixes and four boundaries.

PTV lost Rizwan Ahmed, who was stumped by NBP skipper Kamran Akmal off Raza but Haroon saw his side over the line in an unbroken partnership of 54 with PTV captain Zohaib Ahmed (21). Haroon faced 48 balls and struck slammed six fours and a six.

Raza snared two wickets for 17 runs.

Earlier, Test discard Fawad Alam (43 off 34 balls, five fours) was the major run-getter after NBP were asked to bat first. The left-hander put on 54 for the fourth wicket with Usman Qadir (35 off 28, two fours and one six) and 50 for the next with Hammad (27 off 19, two sixes and two fours) as the bankers reached 166-6.

Paceman Mohammad Ali Bhutta (2-39) and Zohaib Ahmed (2-25) were PTV’s main wicket-takers.

Shoaib Malik played a fine knock of 54 (38 balls, five fours and two sixes) as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) cantered to an easy seven-wicket victory over Khan Research Laboratories at the Gaddafi Stadium.Chasing a modest 136, PIA made a solid start with skipper Kamran Sajid (15) and Sarfraz Ahmed (run-a-ball 35, three boundaries) adding 40 before Malik and Faisal Iqbal (23 off 18, three fours) shared a third-wicket stand of 50.

Skipper Saeed Anwar (45 off 36 balls, four fours and two sixes) and Usman Salahuddin ((50 off 40, six boundaries) were only bright spots in the KRL innings as Adeel Malik (3-26) derailed their hopes with late strikes.

A fine knock by opener Farrukh Shahzad (72 off 61 balls, nine fours) set up State Bank of Pakistan (SBP)’s 28-run victory against United Bank Limited (UBL) at the LCCA Ground.

Off-spinner Atif Maqbool grabbed three wickets for 34 with slow left-armer Kashif Bhatti taking two for 13.Despite making only 126, SBP wrecked UBL hopes by bowling out the opposition for mere 98 in 18 overs despite Mohammad Wajihuddin blasting four sixes and three fours in a 41-ball 50.

PCB Ramazan T20 Cup champions Habib Bank Limited (HBL) also had an easy outing against Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) when they completed to a seven-wicket success at the LCCA Ground.

Fine contributions from Hasan Raza (40 off 42 balls, five boundaries), skipper Younis Khan (33 off 47, two fours) and Imran Farhat (32 off 21, five fours) guided Habib Bank Limited (HBL) mean HBL got the 118 required in with three deliveries to spare.

When Imran was dismissed, HBL were still some way off fro their target but Younis and Hasan then came together in a game-changing 75-run partnership.

In the day’s last fixture, talented opener Sharjeel Khan underlined his credentials in a big way as Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) downed under-strength Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) by seven wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Set to score 142, the left-handed Sharjeel bludgeoned a superb 72 from 51 balls with the aid of six fours and three sixes. Shahid Yousuf also played well to hit an unbeaten 44 off 43 balls (three boundaries) while putting on 89 for the third wicket with Sharjeel.

Earlier, Khurram Shehzad (45, three fours, two sixes) and skipper Taufiq Umar (28) were the main run-getters in SNGPL’s total of 141-8.

Wednesday’s results:

Group ‘A’:

At LCCA Ground: State Bank of Pakistan beat United Bank Limited by 28 runs.

STATE BANK OF PAKISTAN 126 in 20 overs (Farrukh Shehzad 72, Rizwan Haider 22; Atif Maqbool 3-34, Kashif Bhatti 2-13); UNITED BANK LIMITED 98 in 18 overs (Mohammad Wajihuddin 50, Tariq Haroon 25; Tabish Khan 2-11, Jalat Khan 2-14, Hasan Mahmood 2-14, Kashif Siddique 2-26).

At Gaddafi Stadium: Pakistan Television beat National Bank of Pakistan by seven wickets.

NATIONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN 166-6 in 20 overs (Fawad Alam 43 not out, Usman Qadir 35, Hammad Azam 27, Kamran Akmal 17; Zohaib Ahmed 2-25, Mohammad Ali Bhutta 2-39); PAKISTAN TELEVISION 170-3 in 19.4 overs (Zeeshan Mushtaq 66, Haroon Ahmed 64 not out, Zohaib Ahmed 21 not out; Raza Hasan 2-17).

Group ‘B’:

At LCCA Ground: Habib Bank Limited beat Water and Power Development Authority by seven wickets.

WATER AND POWER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 117-9 in 20 overs (Mohammad Ayub Dogar 26, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 21; Aslam Qureshi 2-13, Ehsan Adil 2-19, Umar Gul 2-21); HABIB BANK LIMITED 118-3 in 19.3 overs (Hasan Raza 40 not out, Younis Khan 33 not out, Imran Farhat 32; Sarfraz Ahmed 2-16).At Gaddafi Stadium: Pakistan International Airlines beat Khan Research Laboratories by seven wickets.

KHAN RESEARCH LABORATORIES 135-7 in 20 overs (Usman Salahuddin 50, Saeed Anwar Jr 45; Adeel Malik 3-26); PAKISTAN INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES 139-3 in 19.3 overs (Shoaib Malik 54 not out, Sarfraz Ahmed 35).

At Gaddafi Stadium: Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited beat Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited by seven wickets.

SUI NORTHERN GAS PIPELINES LIMITED 141-8 in 20 overs (Khurram Shehzad 45, Taufiq Umar 28; M. Imran Khan 2-24, Zafar Gohar 2-28); ZARAI TARAQIATI BANK LIMITED 145-3 in 19.3 overs (Sharjeel Khan 72, Shahid Yousuf 44 not out).

Thursday’s fixtures:

KRL v UBL (Gaddafi Stadium, 9:30am); PQA v SNGPL (LCCA Ground, 9:30am); NBP v PIA (Gaddafi Stadium, 1:15pm); SBP v PTV (LCCA Ground, 1:15pm); HBL v ZTBL (Gaddafi Stadium, 5:00pm).