KARACHI: Umar Amin marked his return from Pakistan’s successful T20 leg of the otherwise disastrous New Zealand limited-overs tour with a fine all-round performance on Wednesday as Rawalpindi decimated Lahore Whites by eight wickets in their National One-day Regional Cup fixture.

Elsewhere in the remaining three fourth-round games, despite skipper Shan Masood scoring his fourth one-day century this season, Islamabad failed to prevent Lahore Blues from sealing a seven-wicket victory; Karachi Whites proved too strong for Fata as they crushed the opposition by 10 wickets while Peshawar defeated Faisalabad by four wickets.

The leadership at the top of the eight-team standings changed hands on Wednesday with Karachi Whites squeezing just ahead of previous leaders Rawalpindi with a net run-rate of +0.745 to Rawalpindi’s +0.733 with Peshawar third at +0.206 with all three sides having won three matches apiece thus far.

Lahore Whites folded up for 190 after being put into bat at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. Barring Pakistan ODI opener Imam-ul-Haq (30) and Mohammad Mohsin (37) no one else touched the 30-run mark as Umar grabbed three wickets for 31 runs in 10 overs with his medium-pacers and paceman Yasir Ali 3-22 in 8.1 overs.

Rawalpindi seemed in a hurry during their chase, which was completed at the start of the 36th over, as Umar (84 off 100 balls, 14 boundaries) and Iftikhar Ahmed (59 off 64, seven fours) combined brilliantly in an unbroken partnership of exactly 150.

After having hit three hundreds in the recent One-day Cup Department in which he amassed 653 runs, Test opener Shan Masood continued his golden run by batting through Islamabad’s innings after Lahore Blues opted to bowl first at the Diamond Club Ground.

Shan had reached 128 (137 balls, 11 fours and one six) while Islamabad totalled 254-5 in their 50 overs.

Lahore Blues then rode on Mohammad Saad’s maiden List A century — an unbeaten 100 from 121 deliveries with the aid of seven fours and one six — to collect 255-3 with seven balls to spare. Opener Waqas Saleem contributed a stroke-filled 62 off 78 balls with six boundaries and a brace of sixes before Saad and skipper Saad Nasim (37) added 86 for the unblemished fourth-wicket stand.

Asad Shafiq’s decision to bowl first paid off handsomely when Karachi Whites shot Fata out for a measly tally of 120 in 34 overs at the National Ground.

Anwar Ali (3-22 in eight overs) and left-arm seamer Zia-ul-Haq (3-17 in eight) shared the bulk of the wickets.

Khurram Manzoor (61 off 96 balls, eight fours and one six) and young left-hander Danish Aziz (60 off 91, nine fours and one six) then adopted a rather cautious approach as they together batted for 31.1 overs without being separated when the one-sided encounter ended.

Hosts Peshawar launched their campaign on the familiar territory of Arbab Niaz Stadium on a successful note against Faisalabad. Opting to field at the toss, the home side restricted Misbah-ul-Haq’s charges to 248 all out with the final wicket falling on the last ball of the innings.

Abdul Samad contributed 62 (84 balls, five boundaries) at the top of the order, Misbah hit five fours in making a 59-ball 44 while Raees Ahmed struck a quick 51 with his 44-ball knock adorned with four fours and a six.

Discarded Test paceman Mohammad Imran Khan bagged three wickets for 38 runs in his 10 overs.

Peshawar knocked off the required runs with five balls to spare. Opener Sahibzada Farhan scored 72 off 107 balls (nine fours), skipper Mohammad Rizwan 49 with his 72-ball effort laced with a brace of fours, while Adil Amin finished off Faisalabad by remaining undefeated on 53 (46 balls, four fours and one six).

Wednesday’s results:

Fourth round:

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: Rawalpindi beat Lahore Whites by eight wickets.

LAHORE WHITES 190 in 48.1 overs (Mohammad Mohsin 37, Imam-ul-Haq 30, Rizwan Ahmed 24, Umaid Asif 24, Mohammad Irfan 22; Yasir Ali 3-22, Umar Amin 3-31, Sohail Tanvir 2-46); RAWALPINDI 191-2 in 35.1 overs (Umar Amin 84 not out, Iftikhar Ahmed 59 not out, Naved Malik 26).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Lahore Blues beat Islamabad by seven wickets.

ISLAMABAD 254-5 in 50 overs (Shan Masood 128 not out, Shahid Yousuf 44, Faizan Riaz 43; Aizaz Cheema 2-58); LAHORE Blues 255-3 in 48.5 overs (Mohammad Saad 100 not out, Waqas Saleem 62, Raza Ali Dar 37, Saad Nasim 37 not out).

At National Ground, Islamabad: Karachi Whites beat Fata by 10 wickets.

FATA 120 in 34 overs (Sohail Akhtar 24; Zia-ul-Haq 3-17, Anwar Ali 3-22, Rahat Ali 2-34, Mohammad Asghar 2-39); KARACHI WHITES 124-0 in 31.1 overs (Khurram Manzoor 61 not out, Danish Aziz 60 not out).

At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar: Peshawar beat Faisalabad by four wickets.

FAISALABAD 248 in 50 overs (Abdul Samad 62, Raees Ahmed 51, Misbah-ul-Haq 44, Asif Ali 24, Mohammad Imran 23; M. Imran Khan 3-38, Israrullah 2-49); PESHAWAR 252-6 in 49.1 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 72, Adil Amin 53 not out, Mohammad Rizwan 49, Israrullah 33; Asad Raza 2-61).

Friday’s fixtures: Lahore Whites vs Faisalabad (Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi); Karachi Whites vs Lahore Blues (KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi); Islamabad vs Fata (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Peshawar vs Rawalpindi (Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar).

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2018