SIALKOT STALLION MAKE IT FIVE IN A ROW
KARACHI: Sialkot Stallions were crowned the country"s T20 champions for a fifth year running as they defeated Faisalabad Wolves by five wickets in the final of the RBS Twenty20 Cup 2009-10 at the National Stadium here on Sunday night.
Star all-rounder Abdul Razzaq and left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman clinched two wickets each to help Sialkot Stallions restrict Faisalabad Wolves to 109 for nine and then fine batting from Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Abdul Razzaq, Shahid Yousuf and a blitz from young Adeel Malik in the end enabled Stallions to defend the crown comfortably.
Chasing 110 in front of a huge crowd, Sialkot Stallions had a fiery start when Imran Nazir hit Muhammad Talha for a six over extra cover on the very first delivery and then smacked him for a four before he lost his wicket on the third ball when Asif Hussain took an easy catch at cover.
The next to go was Mansoor Amjad who was excellently run out by Asif Hussain for a duck. However, as usual, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan took the charge, hitting five fours and a six before off-spinner Saeed Ajmal snared him for 27 which he scored off 21 balls.
Skipper Shoaib Malik then fell for just one run after he edged Shahid Nazir to keeper to leave Stallions at 56 for four. But Abdul Razzaq and Shahid Yousuf batted smartly and shared 38 runs for the fifth wicket before Razzaq was bowled by Asad Ali for 24. Shoaib Malik"s younger brother Adeel Malik came in and he scored 12 runs on the first three balls from Shahid Nazir to take Stallions comfortably home in 16.3 overs. Adeel Malik remained not out on 14 which he scored with one six a four while Shahid Yousuf made responsible 21 not out.
Muhammad Talha, Asad Ali, Shahid Nazir and Saeed Ajmal shared one wicket each. Earlier, Faisalabad Wolves" captain Misbah-ul-Haq won the toss and opted to bat first. But his decision proved costly as Wolves" batting collapsed, scoring only 109 for nine in the stipulated 20 overs.
Wolves lost Asif Hussain (0), Muhammad Salman (5) and Ali Waqas (5) for only 19 on the board. But Khurram Shehzad and Muhammad Hafeez, who had hit a century in the semifinal against Lahore Lions, put on 27 valuable runs for the fourth wicket before Hafeez was run out for 29 off a good throw from Abdur Rehman. He hit one four and two sixes in his 23-ball knock.
Soon after left-arm spinner Abdur Rahman took the wickets of Khurram Shehzad (6) and Zeeshan Butt (2) and Wolves were struggling for 56 for six in the 11th over. It was left to Misbah to weave some magic with the bat and though he tried to consolidate his team"s position along with Shahid Nazir, he departed with the score on 89. Pacer Sarfraz bowled a slow, fuller in length delivery on the middle and leg stump which Misbah hit out only to be caught by Shahid inside the rope.
Misbah hammered three fours in his 28-ball 27. After Misbah"s fall Shahid Nazir scored few good runs as Wolves reached 109 for nine. Shahid struck two fours in his unbeaten 14-ball 18. Abdur Rehman remained the most impressive bowler who took 2-17 in four overs while Abdul Razzaq claimed two for 37 in four.
At the end, PCB Chairman Ijaz Butt gave away the winners trophy to Sialkot and distributed cash prizes amongst the top performers of the tournament.
