LAHORE - Misbah-ul-Haq slammed a 27-ball 67 to power Faisalabad Wolves to 183-6 and set up a seven-run D/L victory against Multan Tigers in Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad on Tuesday.
According to Pakistan Cricket Board (PFF) official, Misbah's blitz came at a crucial time, as his fifty meant that Tigers had to chase the big score at more than nine an over right from the off, and despite a late surge from Naved Yasin - 69 not out off 31 balls - the visitors found themselves seven runs short when rain forced a premature end to the game in the 17th over.
After electing to bat, Wolves were 76 for 2 at the halfway stage of their innings, but Misbah whacked five fours and sixes each, including 16 off an over from Sadaif Mehdi, to wrest the advantage. Mehdi conceded 59 runs in his four overs without picking up a wicket.
Tigers found themselves at 32-3 in the fifth over of the chase, losing their top three batsmen to Mohammad Talha. Yasin and Aftab Niazi led a recovery with a 65-run stand for the fourth wicket, but while Yasin stroked two fours and seven sixes, Niazi could only hit 25 runs from his 30 deliveries. It proved crucial in the end, as their slightly lower run-rate coupled with the intervention of rain, allowed Wolves to walk away with two points.  The downpour in Faisalabad also meant that the clash between Karachi Dolphins and Lahore Lions was abandoned without a ball being bowled.

Scoreboard

FAISALABAD WOLVES:
Bilal Shah c Aftab b Majid    32
Farrukh Shehzad st Gulraiz b Naved    25
Asif Ali c Gulraiz b Aamer    1
Khurram Shehzad c Ammar b Ali     29
Misbah-ul-Haq not out     67
Jahandad Khan run out    7
Mohammad Salman c Babar b Majid    14
M Talha not out     0
EXTRAS: (w 6, nb 2)    8
TOTAL: (6 wkts; 20 overs)    183
FOW: 1-36, 2-38, 3-80, 4-96, 5-115, 6-167
BOWLING: Aamer Yamin 4-0-42-1, Majid Ali 4-0-38-2, Sadaif Mehdi 4-0-59-0, M Ali 4-0-25-1, Naved Yasin 4-0-19-1.
MULTAN TIGERS:
Ahmed Rasheed c Misbah b Talha     15
Ammar Ali c Misbah b Talha     14
Babar Ali b Talha     1
Aftab Niazi c Misbah b Ajmal     25
Naved Yasin not out     69
Gulraiz Sadaf c Misbah b Asad    3
Aamer Yamin run out    5
Kashif Mansha not out     1
EXTRAS: (lb 1, w 1, nb 4)    6
TOTAL: (6 wkts; 16.3 overs)    139
FOW: 1-28, 2-31, 3-32, 4-97, 5-106, 6-132
BOWLING: M Talha 3-0-23-3, Asad Ali 2.3-0-20-1, Saeed Ajmal 4-0-33-1, Hasan Mahmood 4-0-41-0, Jahandad Khan 3-0-21-0.
TOSS: Faisalabad Wolves
UMPIRES: Ghaffar Kazmi and Mir Dad
TV UMPIRE: Qaiser Waheed
MATCH REFEREE: Azizur Rehman
RESERVE UMPIRE: Nadeem Iqbal