KARACHI: Peshawar launched the defence of their National One-day Regional Cup crown with a comprehensive 7-wicket victory over Fata in Islamabad on Thursday.

In other first-round fixtures, last year’s runners-up Karachi Whites won a low-scoring game against Faisalabad by five wickets; Rawalpindi overwhelmed neighbours Islamabad by four wickets while the Whites clinched the battle of Lahore outfits with a close two-wicket win.

After opting to bowl first at the Diamond Club Ground, Peshawar restricted Fata to 219 all out in 46.4 overs with just Khushdil Shah making a worthy contribution after skipper Fawad Khan had bludgeoned a quickfire 39 off 29 balls at the top with six fours and a brace of sixes. The young left-hander was run out for 61 after striking four boundaries and three sixes during his 73-ball knock.

Peshawar sealed the result in their favour with 29 deliveries to spare. Opener Sahibzada Farhan underlined his immense potential by scoring 88 from 107 balls with the aid of eight fours and a six. He was involved in a second-wicket partnership of 107 with Ashfaq Ahmed (58 off 64 balls, eight boundaries) before captain Mohammad Rizwan provided the finishing touch with an unbeaten 40 (56 balls, five fours).

At Rawalpindi’s KRL Stadium, the pace trio of Rahat Ali (8-0-22-3), Anwar Ali (9-6-9-3) and Zia-ul-Haq (9-0-22-3) sent Misbah-ul-Haq’s led Faisalabad scuttling to 77 all out in 36 overs after Asad Shafiq chose to field first.

Barring Misbah (12 off 34 balls, one four), and No. 9 Waqas Maqsood (13 off 17, two fours), no other Faisalabad touched double figures.

Karachi Whites also found the going tough before Akbar-ur-Rehman (24 off 66, two fours) got them home with half of the 50-over quota left unused. Waqas bagged three wickets for 14 runs in a fine eight-over spell.

At the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Islamabad mustered a modest total of 196-9 in their 50 overs after Rawalpindi skipper Sohail Tanvir decided bowling first was the best option.

Shan Masood, who amassed 653 runs during United Bank Limited (UBL)’s title-winning campaign in the recent One-day Departmental Cup, fell for just 16.

Faizan Riaz was Islamabad’s top scorer with an 87-ball 63 (six fours and one six), while captain Zohaib Ahmed (31 off 42, four fours) and Shehzad Azam Rana (36 off 51, two fours and one six) managed to cross the 30-run mark.

Sohail captured four wickets for 43 runs in 10 overs with his left-arm seamers.

Former Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali (52 off 84, seven fours0 and Naved Malik (60 off 66, 11 boundaries) made it easy for Rawalpindi by sharing an opening stand of 99 in the first 20 overs before Iftikhar Ahmed slammed an unbeaten 61 — with his 53-ball innings laced with 11 hits to the fence — to end the match with 59 balls to spare.

In arguably the best match of the opening day, Lahore Blues, put into bat at the Islamabad’s National Ground, rode on Mohammad Saad’s career-best one-day score of 96 (89 balls, seven fours and two sixes) to collect 272-7 in the curtailed 43 overs.

Pace-bowling all-rounder Umaid Asif stood out for Lahore Whites with figures of three for 47 in eight overs before his 13-ball cameo of 34, containing four sixes and one four), played a vital part in the last-ball victory.

Usman Salahuddin led from the front with undefeated contribution of 94 while hitting five fours and two sixes in his 85-ball effort. Adnan Akmal (45 off 33, six foes and one six) helped his captain put on 94 after the Whites slumped to 89-4 in the 22nd over.

Thursday’s results:

First round:

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: Rawalpindi beat Islamabad by four wickets.

ISLAMABAD 196-9 in 50 overs (Faizan Riaz 53, Shehzad Azam Rana 36, Zohaib Ahmed 31, Shahid Yousuf 25; Sohail Tanvir 4-43, Sadaf Hussain 2-34, Yasir Ali 2-43); RAWALPINDI 197-6 in 40.1 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 61, Naved Malik 60, Azhar Ali 52; Raza Hasan 2-36, Hamza Nadeem 2-51).

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: Karachi Whites beat Faisalabad by five wickets.

FAISALABAD 77 in 36 overs (Waqas Maqsood 13; Anwar Ali 3-9, Zia-ul-Haq 3-22, Rahat Ali 3-22); KARACHI WHITES 79-5 in 25 overs (Akbar-ur-Rehman 24 not out; Waqas Maqsood 3-14).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Peshawar beat Fata by seven wickets.

FATA 219 in 46.4 overs (Khushdil Shah 61, Fawad Khan 39, Yasir Hameed 28, Mohammad Irfan 25 not out; Akbar Badshah 2-23, Zohaib Ahmed 2-34, Azizullah 2-45, Taj Wali 2-49); PESHAWAR 223-3 in 45.1 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 88, Ashfaq Ahmed 58, Mohammad Rizwan 40 not out, Israrullah 20; Sohail Akhtar 2-38).

At National Ground, Islamabad: Lahore Whites beat Lahore Blues by two wickets.

LAHORE BLUES 272-7 in 43 overs (Mohammad Saad 96, Sami Aslam 44, Sad Nasim 44, Kamran Akmal 41, Umar Akmal 29; Umaid Asif 3-47, Zafar Gohar 2-59); LAHORE WHITES 273-8 in 43 overs (Usman Salahuddin 94 not out, Adnan Akmal 45, Umaid Asif 34, Hamza Paracha 29, Umar Siddique 23; Raza Ali Dar 2-26, Qaiser Ashraf 2-56, Aizaz Cheema 2-57).

Published in Dawn, January 26th, 2018