A round-up of the matches in the Haier T20 Cup played on September 9, 2015
ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2015Group ABahawalpur Region crushed Karachi Whites by 42 runs through an all-round team effort at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. Faisal Mubashir and Moinuddin struck fifties helping Bahawalpur post a score of 174 after being asked to bat first.In reply, Karachi Whites were never allowed to build a substantial partnership. Sheharyar Ghani and opener Ahsan Ali hit 32 and 28 respectively but failed to capitalise on their starts. Kamran Hussain and Saadat Munir shared five wickets, reducing Karachi Whites to 98 for 7. Zahir Siddiqi also claimed two wickets as Karachi Whites were bowled out in the last over.Sialkot Region survived a scare as Hyderabad Region almost ran down the target of 164 in a thrilling encounter but fell four runs short in Islamabad. After opting to bowl first, Hyderabad reduced Sialkot to 7 for 2 – a wobble that was steadied by Bilal Asif (53) and captain Shoaib Malik’s 28-ball 52 which included three sixes and four boundaries. A quickfire 25 off 15 balls by Haris Sohail propelled the total to 163.Hyderabad retorted strongly with contributions from almost all the batsmen, with the highest score being 29 by Shoaib Laghari. A brisk 15 each by No 10 and 11 batsmen – Nauman Ali and Babar Khan respectively – dragged the game into the final over. Amad Butt conceded 50 off his four overs but picked up three wickets while Bilal Asif chipped in with three wickets to go with his fifty.Kamran Akmal’s boundary-laden fifty guided Multan Region to an eight-wicket win against Rawalpindi Region in Rawalpindi. He struck ten fours in his 35-ball 51 as Multan coasted to the 133-run target with 13 balls to spare. After choosing to bat, Nasir Jamshed (11) and Awais Zia gave Rawalpindi a brisk start, putting on 46 runs in 29 balls. However, the innings fell away as wickets fell frequently. Apart from Zia (33), no other batsman scored more than 15. Four Multan bowlers picked up two wickets each as Rawalpindi were bowled out of the penultimate delivery for 132.Akmal and Imran Farhat (24) began the chase solidly, adding a 78-run opening stand. Hammad Azam got rid of the openers in consecutive overs but Sohaib Maqsood and Naved Yasin took Multan through with quick cameos.Group BLeft-arm spinner Khalid Usman ripped through Lahore Region Whites with a five-for to set up a remarkable 83-run victory for Abbottabad Region in Rawalpindi. The decision to field first backfired on Lahore Whites as both Younis Khan and Yasir Hameed cracked half-centuries to help Abbottabad to a total of 198. Lahore Whites bowlers struggled to take wickets and went at eight runs an over or more. Mohammad Irfan was the most economical bowler with figures of 4-0-32-1.Responding to a daunting target, Lahore Whites failed to keep up with the required run rate with wickets falling regularly. Mohammad Hafeez (31) was the only batsman to score over 20. Beside Usman’s five-wicket haul, Yasir Shah and Junaid Khan both bowled economically and chipped in with two wickets apiece.Iftikhar Ahmed’s brisk half-century led Peshawar Region to a comfortable five-wicket win against Faisalabad Region in Rawalpindi. Faisalabad got off to a bright start after choosing to bat through Khurram Shehzad (22) and Asif Ali (24). Although both were dismissed at inopportune times, Misbah-ul-Haq brought some stability with his 33-ball 38. After he fell in the 13th over, Peshawar made regular breakthroughs and kept the total to 133. Imran Khan conceded just 20 runs in his four overs and also claimed four wickets.Peshawar got off to a solid start in the chase and Iftikhar carried the momentum through with a quickfire fifty, which included four fours and two sixes. Faisalabad kept chipping away at the wickets but Peshawar eventually romped home with seven balls to spare.