Fine batting by Ghulam Ali (70) and Zahid Fazal (63 not out) steered PIA into the final of the 17th National One-day Cricket Tournament after thrashing Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) by eight wickets under floodlightat the Qadhafi Stadium on Thursday.
The PIA side will meet the Allied Bank (ABL) team in final to be held on April 4. The ABL team had beaten Karachi Blues by 115 runs in the first semifinals on Wednesday.
Set to score an easy target of 221 in the stipulated 50 overs, the PIA team well served by openers Ghulam Ali and Babar Zaman (35), provided a flying start of 118 in 145 balls. Later, Zahid Fazal with skipper Asif Mujtaba added 88 runs in their unbeaten third wicket stand to reel off the target with 8.4 overs to spare.
Zahid Fazal hit the part-time bowler captain Naseer Ahmad at mid-wicket for four to complete a comfortable victory.
Ghulam Ali for his well played 70, one catch and one run out was adjudged the 'Man-of-the-Match.' He cracked nine fours. He completed his 50 with seven fours when the total was 88. Babar Zaman well assisted him and scored 35, studded with two boundaries off 66 balls.
Zahid Fazal also played with authority and slammed six fours in a 60-ball 63. He made run-a-ball 50. His partner, Asif Mujtaba scored an unbeaten 31 off 32 balls, laced with three strokes to the fence.
Leg-spinner Shakeel Ahmad picked both the wickets while conceding 37 runs in his qouta of 10 overs.
Put into bat by PIA captain Asif Mujtaba, the KRL team scored a modest total of 220 all out in 49.2 overs, thanks to a fourth wicket stand between captain Naseer Ahmad (73) and Asif Mahmood (58) of 95 runs off 114 balls. They came together at a worse position of 37 for three and batting sensibly took the total to a commanding position of 132, before leg-spinner Zahid Ahmad had Asif Mahmood caught by Sohail Jafar. Mahmood slammed four hits to the faced off 90 deliveries.
Three quick dismissals by off-spinner Mahmood Hamid and one run out within a span of 46 runs, vanished all KRL hopes for a big total.
The collapse started when a smart throw from Ghulam Ali at the bowling end ran out the striding Maqsood Ahmad (1) at the total of 144. At 165, Mahmood Hamid started his way with the prized wicket of Naseer Ahmad caught at long-on by Ghulam Ali. Naseer Ahmad dispatched the ball six times to the boundary and consumed 92 balls. At 171, Hamid had Murtaza Husain (3) caught by Wasim Haider at long-off. Seven runs later, the new man Naeem Akhter (1) was the last victim of Hamid who finished with three for 30 in eight overs.
Had Tassawar Husain (27, one four) and Shakeel Ahmad (26, two fours) not put on 38 runs off 50 deliveries in their ninth wicket stand, the KRL side might have been bundled out far more cheaply. Tassawar wascaught behind by Qadeer off Test bowler Muhammad Zahid who finished with one for 47. Another Test bowler Nadeem Khan got Shakeel Ahmad stumped by Javed Qadeer to finish the KRL innings. Nadeem Khan conceded 35 runs for one wicket.
Earlier former international paceman Wasim Haider gave the KRL a nasty jolt by claiming two wickets to make the alarming situation at 37 for three. They had lost opener Irfan Bhatti in the first over. Haider first got opener Iftikhar Husain lbw for 15 (two fours), then he removed Nadeem Abbasi (0) who was caught by wicketkeeper Javed Qadeer, to return with figures of two for 34.