Faisalabad Wolves finished at top with sixth successive win
Faisalabad Wolves defeated Bahawalpur Stags by 10 runs in their last match of Faysal Bank T20 Cup at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Friday to finish as table topper of Group B.
Managing a total of 121-7 after being put to bat, Wolves restricted Stags to 111-8 thanks largely to seamer Ehsan Adil’s three-wicket burst.
With the sixth victory in a row, Wolves finished with 12 points. Bahawalpur, who had won their previous five matches, concluded their pool-match campaign at second spot.
Both sides had already qualified for the semi-finals alongside Lahore Lions from Group A.
Stags had needed 15 off the last over, bowled by Samiullah Khan. The left-arm seamer, however, though his tight line to concede just four runs.
Moinuddin top-scored for Stags with 22 off 24 balls but the rest of others were unable to pass 20-mark.
With Stags reeling at 80-8 in 16 overs following a hiccup in the batting-order, the match was not expected to go as close but Mohammad Talha (19) and (11) shared a quick-fire 31-run stand to ensure a thrilling finish.
Earlier, Faisalabad Wolves lost opener Ali Waqas (6) and Khurram Shehzad (9) early in the innings before Farrukh Shehzad (31 off 37) and skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (13) combined with a 32-run stand to steady the innings.
After pair’s dismissal in quick-succession, an array of cameos from lower-order lifted the total to 121-7.
