SNGPL seal easy seven-wicket win

Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited defeated Sialkot by seven wickets in Hyderabad to record their second win of the tournament. Victory was more or less a formality after they had reached a dominant position on the second day, though the Sialkot lower order did put up a fight. Sialkot had lost seven wickets and led by just six runs when the day began but the last three batsman, especially Bilawal Bhatti at No.11 who made 34, extended the lead to 77. Samiullah Khan (3 for 64) and Yasir Shah (4 for 106) combined to ensure the target set remained a paltry one. Mohammad Hafeez, the SNGPL opener, breezed to a 26-ball 31 while Raza Ali Dar and Usman Arshad did the rest to guide their team to a comfortable win. SNGPL lead the points table with 18 points from three games.

The Rest had been behind the eight-ball when they were bowled out for 142 in the first innings, but they fought back superbly against Habib Bank Limited on the third day to gain the upper hand. Things ended on even terms at stumps on the second day but the game tilted in the Rest's favour on the third, with Aamer Sajjad striking 130. Sajjad was supported ably by Zulfiqar Babar (47) and Saeed Bin Nasir (61), as the Rest, who had led by 49 on the second day, extended their lead to 328 with two wickets still in hand. Chasing over 300 on the final day is a difficult prospect and HBL have their work cut out as they aim to finish the innings off early and chase a challenging target. The Rest currently are second on the points table with nine points and HBL are lagging way behind with just three. A victory is what they need.