Twenty20 tournament to be held in Fujairah

FUJAIRAH, United Arab Emirates: The Gulf News reports that a ten-team tournament will be held in Fujairah between June 21 and August 2.
Called the Crown Prince Cup, the event will feature four teams from Fujairah and six from other emirates. Matches will be played under Twenty20 rules.
“More and more UAE nationals are having a growing interest in cricket, so I can promise you that in the future there will be a UAE cricket team with 100% Emirati representation, “Sultan Saif Al Samahi, Chairman of Fannan Sports and Cultural Club, said.
“Of course, youth form Fujairah will get their chance in that dream,” he added.
“This is a chance to mingle with different communities such as the Indian, Pakistanis, Sri Lankans and Bangladeshis, who have a great passion for the game,” Ahmad Ebrahim Saif, chief coordinator for the tournament, said.
“We are sure that, during and after the tournament, there will be more UAE nationals who will find this game very interesting,” he added.
Matches will take place at the Municipality Cricket Ground and at the cricket ground of the Fujairah Indian School.

Sialkot Stallions beat Karachi Dolphins by 14 runs

KARACHI: Sialkot Stallions outshined Karachi Dolphins by 14 runs and retained their title in the final of Twenty20 Cup Cricket Championship here at National Stadium tonight.

Stallions, who elected to bat first, scored 151 in 20 overs. Imran Nazir being a top scorer for the Stallions made 46 runs followed by Shoaib Malik with 31 and Shahzad Malik with 30 runs.

Fawad Aalam grabbed five, while Wasim Naeem and Aazam Hussain took two wickets each for the loosing team.

Dolphins later responded with 137 runs altogether, making way for Stallions to defend their Twenty20 title.

Twenty20 final-Sialkot stallions Vs karachi dolphins

The final of the twenty20 cricket cup is being played at national stadium in karachi today between sialkot stallions Vs karachi dolphins.
Karachi dolphins won the toss and elected to field first.Sialkot stallions played quite well and they made 151 in their 20 overs.
The scorecard is:

Name R B 4s 6s

Imran Nazir b Wasim Naeem 46 31 7 1
Shoaib Malik c same b Azam 31 23 3 1
Shahid Yousuf c Sarfraz b Azam 0 1 0.00
Qaiser Abbas c Maisam b Fawad 17 22 1 0
Shehzad Malik b Wasim Naeem 30 22 1 2
Naved-ul-Hasan b Fawad Alam 1 3 0 0
Khalid Mahmood b Fawad Alam 3 5 0 0
Tahir Mughal c Mohammad Sami b Fawad Alam 3 5 0 0 Abdur Rehman b Fawad Alam 8 4 2 0
Mansoor Amjad run out (Anwar/Sarfraz Ahmed) 5 2 1 0
Mohammad Asif not out 1 2 0 0
Extras (lb 1, w 5) 6

Total (all out; 20 overs) 151

Karachi dolphins in reply are in quite a big trouble.The absence of Afridi will really hurt them badly.they at the moment are 28/2.which is not good by any means.So,quite a worried kinda situation for karachi fans.

Name............................... R B 4s 6s Strike-rate
*Maisam Hasnain (rhb) 0 5 0 0 0.00 striker
Fawad Alam (lhb) 11 10 1 0 110.00 non-striker

Name............................... O M R W Econ
*Mohammad Asif (rfm) 2.3 0 13 2 5.20 (0nb, 0w)
Naved-ul-Hasan (rmf) 3.0 0 13 0 4.33 (0nb, 0w)

[10:19pm]The match is very evenly poised now.and the score of karachi dolphins at the moment is:129/4.
karachi dolphins need 23 more runs in 6 remaining balls with their six remaining wickets.
Tahir mughal is bowling last over:
1st ball:He bowled outside off-stump.batsmen tried to play but fialed.ball went to the keeper.they tried to run but got run out.so score is:129/5
2nd ball:he tried bowling yorker,was quite successfull.batsmen fawad alam tried to hit it for six and he got caught at midd off.
3rd and 4th ball were same,were over pitched but batsmen just got 2 runs in 2 balls.
5th ball:the ball was hit for six by sami so they now need 14 more runs in one ball.
Last ball:ball was quite short,sami tried to pull for six,and was caught at leg.

So Sialkot stallions remained the champions of the ABN Amro twenty20 championship.

Congratulations to them.I was also supporting Sialkot stallions.so I am feeling a lot of happiness.


Congratulations!




Awaiting your comments:)

ABM Amro Twenty20 Cup has just entered into final stage!

The final of the ABM Amro twenty20 cup is going to be played today,under artificial lights at National stadium Karachi Pakistan.
Yesterday,two semifinals were played in between Sialkot stallions Vs lahore lions and Karachi dolphins Vs Peshawar panthers.Both of the semifinals remained quite one sided and Karachi dolphins and Sialkot stallions easily won their respecitve matches.Shahid Afridi was captaining the karachi Dolphins while Imran Nazir was the captain of Sialkot stallions.
Both the finalist teams are very tough and we hope to see a very good and a nail biting contest tonight.Sialkot stallions-the defending champions are considered to be favourites,Becuase their team is very balanced.In bowling,they are having the pakistani national pace attackers i.e Rana Naveed-ul-hassan and Muhammad Asif.whereas in batting they have the services of the Shoaib malik and Imran nazir.Karachi dolphins are having only two internationally recognized players which include shahid Afridi and Mohd. Sami.
There's also a rumurous going on that Afridi is not playing the match because he is going for Pilgrim(Hajj).I am not able to confirm this news from any authentic source but if this is true the Sialkot Stallions are having a clear edge on Karachi dolphins.
Whatever the situation might be,but we hope to see a great contest tonight for the winners prize of 1 million rupees.And we expect that this wondeful tournament will end in a stylish manner!
Awaiting your comments:)

Twenty20 Cup: Karachi Dolphins defeat Lahore Eagles by nine wickets

KARACHI: Karachi Dolphins, in a must-win situation, sailed comfortably into the 2006-07 ABN-AMRO Twenty20 Cup National Cricket Championship semifinals, when they beat Lahore Eagles by nine wickets in their last Pool A match, here at the National Stadium on Sunday night under lights.

Having bowled out the Lahore team for a pathetic 71 in 14.5 overs, the Dolphins raced to victory making 74 for one in just 12.1 overs. They thus won all their three group matches to take six points and edged Faisalabd Wolves out of the semis. They have now joined defending champions Sialkot Stallions, Peshawar Panthers and Lahore Lions in the last-four stage.

The semifinals will be played on Monday (today), with the final coming up on Tuesday. Scores: Lahore Eagles 71 in 14.5 overs (Mohammad Sami 2-14, Anwar Ali 2-25, Fawad Alam 2-4). Karachi Dolphins 74-1 in 12.1 overs (Shadab Kabir 33*, Fawad Alam 34*).

Lahore Lions reach Twenty20 Cup semis

KARACHI: Lahore Lions beat Quetta Bears by three wickets to enter into the semifinals of Twenty20 Cricket Cup at National Bank Sports Complex on Sunday.

Lahore Lions won the toss Sunday morning and elected to field first in the match.

Quetta Bears scored 148 runs for five wickets in allotted 20 overs. Omar Javed made 43 runs for Bears with three fours and one six, while Shoaib Khan scored 42 runs.

Wahab Riaz and Imran grabbed two wickets each for the Lions.

Lahore team reached to the required target in 19.1 overs for loss of seven wickets. Rashid Riaz 32 and Kashif Siddique 24 not out were major contributors of Lahore Lions’ innings.

Arun Lal and Faisal Arafat captured two wickets each for Quetta.

Two matches of the tournament will be played this evening at National Stadium Karachi. Faisalabad Wolves will be pitched against Abbotabad Rhinos, while Lahore Eagles will face Karachi Dolphins.

Geo Super will live telecast two matches from the National Stadium.

Twenty20-Sialkot stallions vs Karachi zebras

GRP:B
Farce, controversy, Duckworth and Lewis conspired to produce a two-run win for defending champions Sialkot Stallions against the Karachi Zebras. Being bundled out for 106 was no way for champions to start their defense, with only Rana Naved-ul-Hasan's 28 denying Malik Aftab (4 for 17) and Danish Kaneria (3 for 11). But when the Zebras came out to bat, Mohammad Asif and Naved-ul-Hasan reminded everyone just why the Stallions remain favourites this year. Together they reduced the Zebras to 69 for five, despite a clever partnership between Faisal Iqbal and Hasan Raza that ended with both batsmen throwing their wickets away. At that stage, 69 for five, the match was wide open but a floodlight failure meant that no further progress could be made. The umpires chose not to wait too long for a potentially exciting climax, whereupon entered Duckworth and Lewis.
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Faisalabad Wolves get back into the winning habit

KARACHI: Following their two-run defeat at the hands of Karachi Dolphins on Thursday, last season’s runners-up Faisalabad Wolves got back into the winning habit, as they beat Lahore Eagles in a Pool A ABN-AMRO Twenty20 Cup Cricket Championship match by 24 runs, on the second day of competition here under lights at the National Stadium on Friday.
The Wolves, who were champions of the inaugural Twenty20 Cup event in 2004-05, batted first after having won the toss. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq followed his knock of 53 against the Dolphins with an unbeaten 60 off 48 balls yesterday.
The former Pakistan batsman hit five fours and a six on the way. Faisalabad ran up a score of 162 for seven in their 20 overs. Then, they restricted Lahore Eagles to 138 for eight in the latter’s full quota.
After the early dismissal of Pakistan opener Mohammad Hafeez (4) off the second ball of the match, the Wolves were well served by a 50-run second-wicket stand. Asif Hussain blasted 37 off 20 balls with four fours and two sixes while Imran Ali’s 30 came off 21 balls with two fours and a six.
Misbah contributed 60 off the 97 runs added after he came in at 65-3 in only the sixth over. Lahore’s left-arm pace bowler Mohammad Khalil continued his good work in the domestic season, with figures of 3-40 in his four overs.
Lahore Eagles lost opener Ashfaq Ahmed for a duck second ball. Only three batsmen got into the 20s, Arsalan Mir top-scoring with 29 off 20 balls with three fours and a six.
Faisalabad pacemen Shahid Nazir (2-26) and Asad Ali (2-12), in association with slow left-armer Imran Khalid (2-12), kept the Lahore batsmen in check.
Two matches — Islamabad Leopards v Multan Tigers at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium and Karachi Zebras v Sialkot Stallions at National Stadium — were being played later during the day on Friday.
Fixtures for today (Saturday): 10.00am — Sialkot Stallions v Hyderabad Hawks at United Bank Limited (UBL) Sports Complex Ground No.1. 5.00pm — Islamabad Leopards v Peshawar Panthers at National Stadium. 6.30pm — Karachi Dolphins v Abbottabad Rhinos at Asghar Ali Shah Stadium. 8.30pm — Lahore Lions v Rawalpindi Rams at National Stadium.

Shoaib 0-30 in Leopards’ loss

KARACHI: Multan Tigers beat Islamabad Leopards by 21 runs, on the second day of the ABN-AMRO Twenty20 Cup Cricket Championship, here at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium under lights on Friday. The Leopards skipper Shoaib Akhtar’s four overs were hit for 30 runs while he didn’t take any wickets. In this Pool C match, with Multan Tigers making 147-8 in their 20 overs after winning the toss, Islamabad Leopards were bowled out for 126 runs in 18.1 overs. Scores: Multan Tigers 147-8 in 20 overs (Saeed Anwar Jr 24, Kamran Hussain 44, Kashif Naved 23; Azhar Mahmood 3-17, Bilal Asad 3-19). Islamabad Leopards 126 in 18.1 overs (Bazid Khan 53, Bilal Asad 22; Imranullah Aslam 5-17, Shabbir Ahmed 3-15). Right-arm leg-spinner Imranullah Aslam was declared Man of the Match. Iqbal Butt and Kaukab Butt were the two umpires while Khalid Niazi was the match referee.

Cricket-Rain ends Sri Lanka charge in Twenty20-Srilanka VS Newzealand

The opening Twenty20 cricket international between New Zealand and Sri Lanka came to an early end here with play abandoned because of rain as the tourists mounted a fiery run charge.

Under the Duckworth-Lewis system, Sri Lanka won by 18 runs after New Zealand made 162 for eight and Sri Lanka were 62 for one after 5.5 overs when the heavy rain forced players from the field on Friday.

After a rollicking start by Stephen Fleming and Brendon McCullum produced 80 runs in seven overs, New Zealand's batting faltered and they added just 82 runs in the remaining 13 overs.

Man-of-the-match Sanath Jayasuriya led Sri Lanka's reply with a near-solo masterpiece, hitting a rapid 51 in 23 balls, including 10 fours and one six, to score all but 11 of Sri Lanka's 62 runs.

New Zealand's opening onslaught came to an end when Farveez Maharoof bowled Fleming for 38 with a slower ball.

Spin twins Muttiah Muralitharan and Jayasuriya applied the pressure and the run rate slowed to a crawl.

Muralitharan was hit for two sixes in his first three balls before McCullum mistimed a slog and was caught by Upul Tharanga at deep midwicket for 39.

James Franklin, sent in as a pinch hitter, was trapped leg before wicket by Jayasuriya for 18, and Ross Taylor went lbw to Muralitharan for 21.

James Marshall lasted four balls and made one run before before being caught by a leaping Chamara Silva at midwicket for Jayasuriya's second wicket.

New Zealand turned to the veteran Nathan Astle to arrest the middle order collapse but he was bowled by Jayasuriya for 19.

With New Zealand finding runs hard to come by and wickets falling regularly, Silva was called on to bowl and he removed debutant wicketkeeper Peter McGlashan for five.

Shane Bond was back in the pavilion soon after, bowled by Chaminda Vaas without scoring.

Jayasuriya finished with figures of four for 21 from four overs, while Muralitharan took two for 27.

The only wicket to fall in Sri Lanka's run chase was that of Tharanga, who was caught by Fleming off the bowling of Bond for six.

The second and final Twenty20 match is at Auckland on December 26 and the first of the five one-day internationals is at Napier on December 28.
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Twenty20 Cup: Rawalpindi Rams beat Quetta Bears by 20 runs

Karachi: Muhammad Wasim's 86-run knock and his unconquered 92-run partnership with all-rounder Yasir Arafat helped Rawalpindi Rams to secure a 20-run win against Quetta Bears in Twenty20 Cup cricket tournament here Friday at NBP Sports Complex.

Wasim smashed eight fours and two sixes in his 64-ball knock and got good support from Yasir Arafat who fired five boundaries and one six in his 43 off 26 balls as the victors filed a sizeable of 172-5 in allotted overs after deciding to bat first.

Both added unbeaten 92 runs for the sixth wicket after Rawalpindi were five down with only 80 runs on board.

Pacer Faisal Irfan did the damage for Quetta and sent three top Rawalpindi players to the pavilion for only 22 runs.

Faiz (1-38) was the other wicket-taker for Quetta. In reply, Quetta fell 20 runs short of their target after they were restricted to 152-9 in stipulated overs.

Opener Sohaib Khan (44) was the top scorer for losers while Jalat Khan (37) and Naseem Khan (31) were the other main contributors.

Fast bowler Najaf Shah grabbed two while Yasir Arafat, Yasin Murtaza, Babar Naeem and Akhter Ayub took one wicket apiece.

Summarised Scores: Rawalpindi Rams 172-5 in 20 overs ( M Wasim 86, Yasir Arafat 43,Naved Malik 14, Faisal Irfan 3-22)

Quetta Bears: 152-9 in 20 overs (Sohaib Khan 44, Jalat Khan 37, NasimKhan 31, Najaf Shah 2-41)

Karachi Zebras, Lahore Eagles advance into Twenty20 Cup

KARACHI: Karachi Zebras and Lahore Eagles won their respective matches on the opening day of the Twenty20 Cup tournament here on Thursday.

In a match played at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi Zebras beat Hyderabad Hawks by 52 runs. Test cricketer Asim Kamal played well and scored 49 runs off 30 balls including eight fours and one sixer. Captain Hasan Raza scored 43 runs.

Karachi Zebras scored 149/9 in allotted overs. Hyderabad Hawks chasing the target of 150 runs managed to score 97 runs after losing 9 wickets.

Test leg spinner Danesh Kaneria captured three Hyderabad wickets.

The other fixture of the day played at National Bank Sports Complex between Lahore Eagles and Abbotabad Rhinos. Lahore Eagles scored 171for six wickets in allotted overs. Ashfaq Ahmad scored tournament’s first half century with five fours and two sixes. Aamir Sajjad made 43 runs.

Abbotabad Rhinos scored only 90 runs while chasing the target of 172 runs and the Eagles won the match by 81 runs.

Test cricketer Abdul Razzaq was not representing Lahore Eagles who was ruled out of the tournament due to fitness reasons.

Shahid Afridi on comeback trail as Twenty20 Cup blasts off

KARACHI: Pakistan discard Shahid Afridi renews his resolve to return to national colours as he enters the field in the role of Karachi Dolphins captain, in their opening match of the newest edition of the ABN-AMRO Twenty20 Cup cricket tournament, against Faisalabad Wolves here at the National Stadium at 5.00pm today (Thursday).
Four matches have been lined up here in Karachi on the inaugural day of the six-day competition, the first two starting at 10.00am at the two other major grounds in the city. The fourth will get under way at 8.30pm at the National Stadium under floodlights.
Eight of the 13 regional teams of the country will be seen in action today. There are four groups, with four sides in Pool A and three each in the other three, Pools B, C and D. Each group will provide a team for the semifinals while the final will be played next Tuesday to decide the champion side.
All Pakistan national team players have been urged to appear for their home sides in the 2006-07 Twenty20 Cup Championship, however, skipper Inzamam-ul-Haq — who had been named captain of Multan Tigers — is expected to stay away due to personal commitments that have already been made known to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
Peshawar Panthers meanwhile are being led by Pakistan vice-captain Younis Khan while Mohammad Yousuf will be in charge of the Lahore Lions outfit. The Islamabad Leopards have as their leader the Pakistan pace ace Shoaib Akhtar.
In the first match of the day today, Karachi Zebras — being captained by Hasan Raza — will meet Hyderabad Hawks at the United Bank Limited (UBL) Sports Complex Ground No.1, as proceedings start at 10.00am in this Pool B fixture.
The matches that start at 10.00am will be played in two 80-minute sessions and are due to end at 12.55pm. At the National Stadium, the matches that begin at 5.00pm will end at 7.55pm under lights while the ones scheduled for an 8.30pm start will continue until 11.25pm each day.
Also getting off to a start at 10.00am today is a Pool A match between Lahore Eagles and Abottabad Rhinos at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Sports Complex Stadium. The other Pool A match of the opening day is between Karachi Dolphins and Faisalabad Wolves at the National Stadium, beginning at 5.00pm.
Later at 8.30pm, Peshawar Panthers will come face to face with Multan Tigers in their Pool C fixture at the National Stadium. The other five teams will swing into action from Friday (tomorrow).
The first national Twenty20 Cup tournament, also sponsored by the ABN-AMRO Bank in its inaugural season, was played in 2004-05 and Faisalabad Wolves became its first winners after beating Karachi Dolphins in the final. In 2005-06, Sialkot Stallions took the title away defeating Faisalabad Wolves in the decider.
The Twenty20 concept of cricket, with each side limited to batting for 20 overs and the games finishing in three hours’ time, took off in the home of cricket — England — in the summer of 2003. South Africa followed suit in 2003-04 with their own Standard Bank Pro20 Series.
Sri Lanka, with their Twenty20 Cup, were next in 2004-05 while Pakistan joined in the same season with the ABN-AMRO Twenty20 Cup. New Zealand’s State Twenty20 began in 2005-06 while Australia introduced the KFC Twenty20 Big Bash in January 2006.
The West Indies entered the fray with their lucrative Stanford Twenty20 competition in July this year, but Bangladesh, India and Zimbabwe have not yet started a domestic Twenty20 contest of their own.
The first Twenty20 International was played between New Zealand and Australia at Auckland’s Eden Park on February 17, 2005, with Australia emerging victorious by 44 runs.
Since then, a total of 10 Twenty20 International cricket matches have been played, every Test-playing nation having been featured in at least one. Australia and South Africa (4 each) have played more such matches than any other side, with New Zealand and England having played three each and the other six one each.
Pakistan beat England by five wickets in their first Twenty20 International, at the County Ground Bristol on August 28 this year. Appropriately, the hard-hitting Shahid Afridi was declared Man of the Match, his blitz of a knock of 28 coming off just 10 balls with five fours and a six.
The inaugural Twenty20 World Cup is now next on the International Cricket Council (ICC) agenda as a regular international feature. South Africa has already been decided as the venue with dates, etc., soon to be disclosed.
A display of the kind of batting that can be expected in Twenty20 cricket was given by the Karachi Dolphins captain Moin Khan when scoring the Pakistan competition’s first hundred. Playing against Lahore Lions at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on April 25, 2005, he blasted 112 runs off a mere 59 balls with eight fours and six sixes.
After winning the first national Twenty20 Cup, Faisalabad Wolves were invited to England to play in a six-team International 20:20 Club Championship in the September of 2005. They won the title beating Sri Lanka’s champions Chilaw Marians Cricket Club in the final at Grace Road Leicester by five wickets!
Fixtures for today (Thursday): 10.00am — Karachi Zebras v Hyderabad Hawks (UBL Sports Complex Ground No.1, umpires Iqbal Butt and Zaheer Ahmed, match referee Saadat Ali, official scorer Syed Imran Ali). 10.00am — Lahore Eagles v Abbottabad Rhinos (NBP Sports Complex Stadium, Akbar Khan and Islam Khan, Khalid Niazi, Salman Siddiqi). 5.00pm — Karachi Dolphins v Faisalabad Wolves (National Stadium, Kaukab Butt and Z I Pasha, Ishtiaq Ahmed, Mohammad Ahsan). 8.30pm — Peshawar Panthers v Multan Tigers (National Stadium, Ahsan Raza and Shakeel Khan, Khatib Rizwan, Salman Hussain).

Twenty20 Cup kicks off in Karachi

KARACHI: Twenty20 Cup has kicked off here today (Thursday) in which 13 teams of 11 regions are taking part.

Four matches would be played on the opening day of the tournament.

Karachi Zebras would face Hyderabad Hawks, Lahore Eagles would take on Abbotabad Rhinos, Faisalabad wolves would face Karachi Dolphins whereas Peshawar Panther would play against Multan Tigers. Final would be played on December 26.
Imran nazir will play as the captain of Sialkot stallions where as Mohd yousuf will be the captain on Lahore lions!

The winner of the title would get Rs. one million whereas runner up would get Rs. 0.5 million. These matches would be telecast live on Geo Super.

Asif awaits Twenty20 Cup to show fitness

KARACHI: Cleared from a one-year doping ban, Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Asif believes he is fit enough to make a comeback in the national side for the upcoming assignments and said is awaiting the Twenty20 tournament to show his form and fitness.
“I am fit enough to play all form of cricket as I continued my training even during the whole doping episode and will show it in the Twenty20 Cup,” said the lanky fast bowler in an interview to a local website on Wednesday.
Mohammad Asif had his one-year ban overruled earlier this month by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Appellate Committee along with Shoaib Akhtar who was cleared from a two-year ban.
Both the bowlers were called back from India during the International Cricket Councils (ICCs) Champions Trophy last October after being tested positive for banned steroid nandrolone and were handed bans on November 1 by a PCB assigned tribunal.
On clearance of his ban, Asif who will turn 24 on Dec 20 said that he knew he was innocent and was very happy to get exonerated from the doping scandal.
He said he is working hard on his fitness and undergoes daily training for at least four hours at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Lahore under coaching of former Test bowlers Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed.
The Sheikhupura-based pacer said he is looking forward for the Twenty20 Cup that will underway from Dec 21 at Karachi to prove his fitness for the comeback in national side.
“I will play in the upcoming Twenty20 tournament to show my form and fitness to the national selectors and then it will up to them to consider me or not,” Asif who has 30 wickets from six Test matches said.
He said he would try his best to give good performance in the Twenty20 Cup in order to get his place in the national side for the upcoming tour of South Africa and next year’s World Cup.