KARACHI: In arguably the match of the tournament, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa qualified for the final of the Cool & Cool presents Haier Pakistan Cup after sealing a thrilling seven-run victory over Sindh at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Wednesday night.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s third success in the competition was set up by a brilliant 143 from their stand-in skipper Ahmed Shehzad as Sindh — led by a brilliant undefeated knock of 168 from Khalid Latif — made a gallant attempt to hunt down a stiff target of 320.

Sindh needed their in-form openers, Khurram Manzoor and Sami Aslam, to continue their prolific partnership after back-to-back stands of 148 and 196 in the first two fixtures. But the departure of Khurram, who made centuries against Balochistan and Islamabad last week, in the third over for just two runs was a massive setback for Sindh.

And when Sami Aslam (7) and the out-of-form Sohaib Maqsood (4) went by the time score had advanced to 22 in the 7th over, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were in full command of the game.

But Khalid, who was extremely fortunate to escape being caught by Sameen Gul off Zia-ul-Haq before opening his account, and Fawad Alam revived Sindh’s innings by putting on 164 for the fourth wicket. Khalid, who had an in-and-out sort of international career, batted with authority to bring up his 12th one-day century shortly after the left-handed Fawad was taken in the deep off Sameen for 74 (off 106 balls, seven boundaries and one six).

The 31-year-old right-hander, one of only two Pakistanis to have made List ‘A’ double hundred — 204 not out for Karachi Dolphins against Quetta Bears at NBP Sports Complex in Karachi in March 2009 — was harsh on Test leg-spinner Yasir Shah by hoisting him for four of nine sixes he struck during his 129-ball innings.

The crucial loss for Sindh was the early dismissal of their captain Sarfraz Ahmed when the Pakistan T20 skipper was beaten by turn as he lunged forward to Yasir’s leg-break and was comfortably stumped by Bismillah Khan.

Bilal Asif helped Khalid add 59 but the all-rounder perished in the 45th over for run-a-ball 21 while attempting hit left-arm seamer Zia-ul-Haq across the line.

Sohail Khan, the Pakistan fast bowler who is capable of big hitting at times, lashed two sixes and a four in scoring 25 off 16 balls as he and Khalid swiftly put on 59 in 29 balls.

But Zia struck the vital blow for his team by forcing Sohail to hit straight Zohaib Khan’s lap on the midwicket boundary after Sindh had began the last over of the match requiring 15 for an incredible win.

Khalid managed to strike the last ball to the fence for his 11th boundary but his heroics were not enough to stop Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advancing to Sunday’s title-deciding fixture.

Zia was easily the best bowler wit 3-50 in 10 overs, while 17-year-old Sameen claimed 2-37 in eight overs.

Despite the loss, Sindh are still well placed to make the final if they beat Punjab in Friday’s final league match. Mathematically, Punjab are also in contention but unlike Sindh they need to win by a landslide margin to better Sindh’s far superior net run-rate.

Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took full advantage of bating first in perfect conditions after Shehzad had won the toss. The Pakistan right-hander led from the front to lay foundation for his side’s eventual tally of 319-6.

Fakhar Zaman enhanced his credentials by contributing a well-made 68 (79 balls, eight boundaries) in the opening partnership of 176 with Shehzad inside the first 32 overs before Bilal Asif’s off-spin accounted for both of them.

Shehzad surpassed his previous best one-day score of 130 — for Pakistan ‘A’ against Sri Lanka ‘A’ at Colombo’s Moors Sports Ground in August 2009 — before he was caught at point. His 135-ball knock included 15 fours and two sixes.

Scoreboard

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA:

Ahmed Shehzad c Rumman b Bilal 143 Fakhar Zaman c Sarfraz b Bilal 68 Zohaib Khan c Sarfraz b Amir 27 Bismillah Khan c Sarfraz b Rumman 25 Israrullah lbw b Amir 2 Adil Amin c Khurram b Rumman 20 Fahim Ashraf not out 20 Yasir Shah not out 5

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-7) 9

TOTAL (for six wkts, 50 overs) 319

FALL OF WKTS: 1-176, 2-238, 3-252, 4-259, 5-282, 6-302.

DID NOT BAT: Sameen Gul, Zia-ul-Haq, Mohammad Asghar.

BOWLING: Sohail Khan 10-0-90-0 (2w); Mohammad Amir 10-0-50-2 (2w); Rumman Raees Khan 10-0-63-2 (2w); Bilal Asif 10-0-46-2; Mohammad Hassaan Khan 7-0-45-0 (1w); Fawad Alam 3-0-23-0.

SINDH:

Khurram Manzoor c Shehzad b Sameen 2 Sami Aslam run out 7 Khalid Latif not out 168 Sohaib Maqsood c Bismillah b Zia 4 Fawad Alam c Fakhar b Sameen 74 Sarfraz Ahmed st Bismillah b Yasir 1 Bilal Asif b Zia 21 Sohail Khan c Zohaib b Zia 25 Rumman Raees Khan run out 0 Mohammad Hassaan Khan not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-6, NB-2) 10

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 50 overs) 312

FALL OF WKTS: 1-3, 2-13, 3-22, 4-186, 5-194, 6-253, 7-308, 8-308.

DID NOT BAT: Mohammad Amir.

BOWLING: Zia-ul-Haq 10-0-50-3 (2w); Sameen Gul 8-0-37-2 (1w); Mohammad Asghar 10-0-63-0; Zohaib Khan 8-1-60-0 (3w); Yasir Shah 10-0-67-1; Fahim Ashraf 3-1-23-0 (2nb); Adil Amin 1-0-10-0.

RESULT: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won by seven runs.

UMPIRES: Asif Yaqoob and Riazuddin.

TV UMPIRE: Mohammad Sajid Afridi.

MATCH REFEREE: Mohammad Anees.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Ahmed Shehzad and Khalid Latif (shared).

Published in Dawn, April 29th, 2016