FAISALABAD: Saim Ayub backed his five-wicket haul with a brisk knock up the order and propelled Panthers to a crushing seven-wicket victory over Markhors in the Qualifier 1 of the Champions One-Day Cup here at Iqbal Stadium on Tuesday.
The crushing victory powered Shadab Khan-led Panthers into the Champions One-Day Cup final while Mohammad Rizwan’s Markhors will face the winning team of the Eliminator between Stallions and Lions, scheduled on Wednesday.
Chasing a modest total, the Panthers knocked the winning runs in style when Usman Khan smashed Kamran Ghulam for a six on the fourth delivery of the 24th over and also brought up his half-century in just 26 balls.
The Panthers got off to an unwanted start to the pursuit as they lost young opener Azan Awais (13) in the sixth over with just 21 runs on the board.
Following the early hiccup, Saim Ayub forged an anchoring 50-run partnership with Umar Siddiq and put the Panthers halfway through.
The in-form opener finally perished in the 16th over, falling victim to Zahid Mahmood after scoring a 36-ball 33 with the help of six boundaries.
Siddiq followed suit just three overs later as he fell victim to Salman Ali Agha in the 19th over after scoring 35 off 52 deliveries.
Wicketkeeper batter Usman Khan then forged a one-sided partnership with Rizwan Mehmood and steered Panthers to a crushing victory.
Usman smashed five fours and four sixes on his way to top score for Panthers with a 26-ball 54 while Rizwan made five not out.
For Markhors, Akif Javed, Agha and Zahid could pick one wicket apiece.
Markhors’ captain Mohammad Rizwan’s decision to bat first backfired as their batters skittled against a disciplined Panthers’ bowling attack and could accumulate 137 runs before being bundled out in 37 overs.
Young pacer Ali Raza gave Panthers a head start with the ball as he got Haseebullah (3) caught behind on the second delivery of the second over.
In-form Mohammad Hasnain then capitalized on the start provided by Raza and struck thrice in quick succession to leave Markhors reeling at 25/4 in 6.5 overs.
Following the early debacle, Iftikhar Ahmed and Salman Ali Agha launched a recovery with a cautious fifth-wicket partnership.
The duo had settled down, having scored 67 runs for the fifth wicket but had a disappointing end to their stand as Iftikhar was run out.
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Iftikhar scored 39 off 61 balls, hitting three fours and a six.
Saim Ayub then ran through Markhors’ lower middle order with a five-wicket haul. The table-toppers lost their remaining five wickets for just 35 runs and were eventually bundled out in 37 overs.
Salman Ali Agha remained the top-scorer for Markhors with a gutsy half-century, scoring 52 off 81 deliveries, laced up with four fours and a six.
Saim Ayub was the standout bowler for the Panthers, returning brilliant figures of 5/24, followed by Hasnain’s 3/25 while Raza made one scalp.
It is worth mentioning that Mohammad Haris’ Stallions will lock horns with Shaheen Afridi’s Lions in the Eliminator of the Champions One-Day Cup on Wednesday at the same venue.
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