KARACHI, Feb 18 National Bank, Multan Tigers and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) joined Sialkot Stallions in the semi-finals of the RBS National One-day Cup after winning their respective last-round matches on Thursday.

National Bank scampered to a two-wicket win over a pluck Karachi Zebras side in a high-scoring match at the Gaddafi Stadium to claim first spot in Group 'B' on net run-rate (1.971) after they and KRL both finished with 18 points. KRL's 1.083 net run-rate was not enough to put them through to the knock-out stage despite defeating Habib Bank by 19 runs in Rawalpindi.

Multan Tigers had no such problem as they topped Group 'A' with maximum 16 points from four straight victories. In their final game, they beat Peshawar Panthers by five wickets at the UBL Sports Complex here with upcoming wicket-keeper/batsman Gulraiz Sadaf scoring a scintillating 103 off 111 balls (13 boundaries).

In the inconsequential fixture in this pool saw Karachi Dolphins winning by 45 runs against Hyderabad Hawks by 45 runs.

The Stallions qualified from Group 'C' on a superior net run-rate despite losing to Faisalabad Wolves at the Iqbal Stadium by a margin of 61 runs. In the same group, Rawalpindi Rams defeated Abbottabad Rhinos by six wickets in Sargodha to draw level with the Stallions on points — both teams having collected 16 each — but the Rams missed out as their 0.688 net run-rate failed to better the Stallions' 0.953.

SNGPL emulated Multan Tigers by winning all their games in Group 'D'. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq's unbeaten 101 (102 balls, seven fours and three sixes) inspired them to a 69-run success over Wapda in Multan.

In the other fixture, PIA downed ZTBL by 70 runs in Bahawalpur.

Meanwhile, Azeem Ghumman, who led Pakistan to the runners-up spot in last month's ICC Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, struck a fine 133 off 148 balls with the help of 11 boundaries to help Sui Southern Gas Company post 293-9 in their Group 'B' match against Lahore Eagles at the LCCA Ground.

But unfortunately for Azeem, the Eagles won by one wicket with just three balls left. Opener Irfan Zaman hammered 142 off 125 balls (14 fours and five sixes) to upstage Azeem.

Results

Group 'A'

At National Stadium, Karachi Karachi Dolphins beat Hyderabad Hawks by 45 runs.

KARACHI DOLPHINS 275 in 1 overs (Shaharyar Ghani 86, Mirza Adnan Baig 69, Ali Asad 46; Kashif Bhatti 4-37, Lal Kumar 3-65); HYDERABAD HAWKS 230 in 48 overs (Aqeel Anjum 106; Azam Hussain 4-35, Mohammad Sami 2-41, Junaid Ilyas 2-47, Rumman Raees Khan 2-54).

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi Multan Tigers beat Peshawar Panthers by five wickets.

PESHAWAR PANTHERS 250 in 50 overs (Haroon Ahmed 67, Azam Jan 50; Mohammad Hafeez Jr 3-45, Kashif Naved 2-22, Faisal Elahi 2-37); MULTAN TIGERS 254-5 in 41.2 overs (Gulraiz Sadaf 103, Kashif Naved 73 not out; Bilal Khan 2-42).

Group 'B'

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore National Bank beat Karachi Zebras by two wickets.

KARACHI ZEBRAS 311-8 in 50 overs (Akbar-ur-Rehman 126 not out, Mohtashim Ali 46, Babar Rehman 43; Mohammad Zahid 2-26, Irfanuddin 2-65, Sarmad Bhatti 2-75); NATIONAL BANK 315-8 in 48.4 overs (Salman Butt 87, Umar Amin 52, Sarmad Bhatti 45 not out, Naumanullah 43; Misbah Khan 2-39, Wajihuddin 2-41).

At LCCA Ground, Lahore Lahore Eagles beat SSGC by one wicket.

SSGC 293-9 in 50 overs (Azeem Ghumman 133, Asif Zakir 87; Mohammad Irshad 6-58); LAHORE EAGLES 294-9 in 49.3 overs (Irfan Zaman 142, Mohammad Saeed 49, Imad Ali 41; Sohail Khan 4-35, Haris Ayaz 2-51).

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi KRL beat Habib Bank by 19 runs.

KRL 237 in 47.3 overs (Zahoor Elahi 60, Ali Khan 45; Aslam Qureshi 3-42, Kamran Hussain 3-54, Salman Qadir 2-32); HABIB BANK 218 in 47 overs (Danish Kaneria 64, Shan Masood 42; Yasir Ali 3-41, Saeed Anwar Jr 3-41).

Group 'C'

At Sports Stadium, Sargodha Rawalpindi Rams beat Abbottabad Rhinos by six wickets.

Abbottabad Rhinos 233 in 50 overs (Mohammad Kashif 78 not out, Khalid Usman 47; Sadaf Hussain 4-58, Yasim Murtaza 3-46); RAWALPINDI RAMS 235-4 in 41.4 overs (Zahid Mansoor 87, Babar Naeem 82; Ikramullah 2-40).

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Faisalabad Wolves beat Sialkot Stallions by 61 runs.

FAISALABAD WOLVES 287-9 in 50 overs (Shahid Siddique 79, Zeeshan Asif 64, Mohammad Salman 61; Bilawal Bhatti 4-49, Prince Abbas 2-47); SIALKOT STALLIONS 226-9 in 50 overs (Adeel Malik 70, Mohammad Ayub Dogar 56; Hasan Mahmood 3-40, Mohammad Shahid 2-17, Mohammad Bilal 2-45).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad Lahore Lions beat Islamabad Leopards by 30 runs.

LAHORE LIONS 252-9 in 50 overs (Junaid Zia 37; Irfan Talib 4-37, Shahzad Azam 2-41, Sohail Khan 2-57); ISLAMABAD LEOPARDS 222 in 47.4 overs (Raheel Majeed 73; Saad Nasim 4-35, Mohammad Naved 2-35, Inam Javed 2-45).

Group 'D'

At Multan Cricket Stadium SNGPL beat Wapda by 69 runs.

SNGPL 274-3 in 50 overs (Misbah-ul-Haq 101 not out, Raza Ali Dar 86, Khurram Shahzad 50 not out, Ali Waqas 40); WAPDA 225 in 49.4 overs (Jahangir Mirza 88, Ahmed Said 56; Imran Ali 2-28, Saleem Mughal 2-31, Khurram Shahzad 2-34, Samiullah Niazi 2-46).

At Bahawalpur Stadium PIA beat ZTBL by 70 runs.

PIA 279-9 in 50 overs (Anwar Ali 79 not out, Khurram Manzoor 55, Faisal Iqbal 41; Rehan Riaz 3-39, Usman Qadir 2-52); ZTBL 209 in 42.2 overs (Atif Ashraf 50, Wajahatullah Wasti 41; Janisar Khan 5-36, Ali Imran Pasha 2-41).