ISLAMABAD: Karachi Whites edged out Bahawalpur Region by 12 runs on DLS method in the rain-marred National T20 Championship on Monday at the Imran Khan Stadium in Peshawar.
Heavy rain lashed the city when Karachi Whites, spearheaded by Saim Ayub (53 not out) reached 78 for no loss in nine overs. Earlier. Imran Randhava (59) and Faizan Zafar (49) helped Bahawalpur hit up 180 for 8 in 20 overs, setting up 181 runs winning target for Karachi Blues.
Mohammad Umar (2-27) was the pick of the bowlers for Karachi whites. Earlier, late Sunday, Karachi Blues, one of the two qualifiers, bowled Sialkot out for 161 in 19.4 overs while defending their 201 all-out total. Asked to bat first, Karachi Blues were led by opening batter Ahsan Ali, who struck a 27-ball 50 featuring five fours and three sixes. He added 40 runs for the third wicket with top-scorer Usman Khan after Karachi Blues had reached 56 for two in 5.4 overs.
Player of the match Usman kept the Karachi innings intact with a powerful 81 off 39 balls featuring nine fours and five sixes after he walked in the sixth over and departed in the 19th. After Ahsan fell in the 11th over with the score at 96 for three, Karachi Blues encountered a mini-collapse, losing three wickets for 10 runs to slide to 106 for six in 12.4 overs.
Usman and Jahandad Khan (30, 16b, 2x4s, 2x6s) then salvaged the innings with a game-changing 88-run partnership for the seventh wicket off just 34 balls. The duo propelled their side to 194 in 18.1 overs before Usman fell to Abdul Subhan, who registered a three-wicket 19th over finishing with figures of 4-0-41-4.
Muhammad Ali (3.2-0-41-2) removed the last batter as Karachi Blues were bowled out for 201 in 19.2 overs, losing their final four wickets for seven runs after slipping from 194-6. In response, Sialkot first lost their opening batters with 23 runs on the board in 3.3 overs and then slipped to 79-6 in 10.4 overs. Among the top seven batters only Abdullah Shafique (28, 15b, 1x4, 2x6s) managed to cross the 20-run mark. Skipper Usama Mir top-scored with a 31-ball 63 hitting six fours and four sixes in a late fightback after Sialkot were faced with a daunting task of scoring 123 off 56 balls.
Usama shared a 46-run partnership for eighth wicket with Hamza Nazar but in vain as right-arm pacer Khalil Ahmed removed the duo picking the last three of the four Sialkot wickets to fall.
