Habib Bank subdue Allied Bank as Elahi hammers second consecutive ton

Habib Bank opener Saleem Elahi hammered a brilliant 115 off only 97 balls, helping his side surpass Allied Bank's competitive 266 with two overs and three wickets to spare in the first match of the sixth round of One-day tournament (departments). This is test discard Elahi's second consecutive century in the tournament, after he thrashed 170 (142 balls, 22 fours, 1 six) in Bankers' winning campaign against Pakistan International Airlines in fifth round.

After adding 115 for the first wicket with Taufeeq Umer (39 off 63), the right-hander Elahi compiled a useful 73 for the third wicket with Ijaz Ahmed (51 off 49, 4 fours 2 sixes) to take his side across 200-run mark by the 32nd over.

The fall of a few wickets in quick succession after that endangered HBL's chances of victory. However, they managed to squeeze through on the basis of an unbeaten 14 off 21 from wicket keeper Tahir Rasheed, batting at number 9.

Batting first after winning the toss earlier in the day, Allied Bank were boosted by a 125-run second wicket partnership between Mohammad Nawaz and Aamer Hanif. Getting together at 12 for 1 in the third over, they took the score to 137 by the 28th over, thus, laying a sound foundation for a big score.

Nawaz made 67 (85 ball, 6 fours) and Aamer contributed with 57 (76 balls, 3 fours), before both getting out within the space of 7 runs. After their departure, the task of scoring quick runs was taken over by Aaley Haider (25 off 26, 3 fours) and Taimur Khan (39 off 52, 4 fours). However, the real acceleration was provided by former test player Mohammad Akram, who collected a quick-fire 35 off 24 ball, hitting 4 fours and a six.

HBL skipper Akram Raza remained the most successful bowler, getting 3 for 48. Imran Farhat, fresh from his trip to Sharjah, took 2 for 21 in five overs. Asadullah Butt and Sajid Shah bagged one wicket each.

Saeed Bin Nasir stroked a magnificent 106 not out to help Khan Research Laboratories crush Agricultural Bank by a comprehensive margin of 9 wickets in the second match of this round, played at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

The right-handed opener hit 12 boundaries in his 111-ball innings, while adding 144 to for the first wicket with Saeed Anwar Jnr and another 62 with Mohammad Wasim for the unconquered second wicket, overhauling the victory target of 205 in 38 overs.

Saeed Anwar Jnr made 78 off 87 balls and hit 10 boundaries, whereas Wasim remained unbeaten on 17 off 32 balls.

The morning session saw a magnificent collective effort by the KRL bowlers, containing ADBP to 205 in 46.3 overs, after they had elected to bat first on an apparently batting-friendly track.

Naeem Akhtar, the right-handed pace man, grabbed three wickets for 53 to inflict real damage on the ADBP batsmen, after a fine 77 off 99 by the middle order batsman Majid Jahangir had taken them on course to a big total. Naeem was ably supported by Jaffar Nazir and Saeed Anwar Jnr who grabbed two wickets for 34 runs each.

In the third match of the day, played at Sheikhupura, Pakistan International Airlines surpassed the 178-run target set by National Bank to win comfortably by 6 wickets.

After losing two wickets for just 16, PIA looked in real danger of squandering their chance of winning the match. But then a 50-run partnership for the second wicket between Ghulam Ali (32 off 36, 4 fours) and skipper Asif Mujtaba (28 off 49, 4 fours) brought a much needed order in their ranks.

However, the dismissal of both within a space of 20 runs, once again made things a bit shaky for PIA. It was then up to an unbeaten 95-run stand between Yasir Hameed and Moin Khan for the fifth wicket, which ensured a comprehensive victory for their side.

Moin, the former captain, stroked a fine 51 off 49 balls, and Yasir made 50 off 64 to take their side through in only 34.1 overs.

Earlier, it was fine display of spin bowling from Shoaib Malik (4 for 39) and Saqlain Mushtaq (2 for 38), restricting NBP to 177. Only Qaisar Abbas (38 off 73) and Naumanullah (37 off 75) could take their individual scores into 30's, with the remaining batsmen failing to show any worthwhile performance against an experienced PIA attack.

In the last match, Pakistan Customs went down by 3 wickets against Wapda, despite a valiant hundred by Nasim Khan at number 3 position.

It was really a commendable effort by the left-hander, considering that none of the other Customs batsmen could score even a fifty, the second highest being 32 (41 balls) by Nisar Abbas, batting low down the order.

Requiring 232 for victory, Wapda seemed to be cruising along at 132 for 2 by the 30th over, after Rizwan Malik (67off 95 balls) and Sheraz Butt (27 off 53 balls) had batted with utter caution. However, the next ten overs saw them slumping to 179 for 6, needing the remaining 53 at around five an over.

Rafatullah Mohmand and Shafiq Ahmed batted with responsibility at this critical juncture to ensure that the ultimate honours went to their side. Shafiq Ahmed remained not out on 25 off 26, hitting one four and a six, whereas Rafatullah missed his half-century by just one run in a 47-ball innings, before being out at the total of 224.