Pakistan:Asif tears apart Tigers in Super-Eight T20 opener
KARACHI: Debutant Asif Ali took the Faysal Bank Super-Eight T20 by storm on Friday as he belted a thunderous century to help Faisalabad Wolves overwhelm Multan Tigers by 69 runs at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
After being sent in to bat first by Tigers skipper Abdur Rauf, Wolves amassed 199-3 in 20 overs.
Rauf’s call to bowl first on a batting-friendly track paid immediate dividends when he dismissed the dangerous Mohammad Hafeez on the very first ball.
But from then on, it was a toil for the Tigers as Asif Hussain took attack to the opposition; hitting three boundaries in the same over.
Hussain was joined by Asif Ali, a blacksmith in his early days and the duo played with utmost ease as they found the boundary in almost every over they played.
Test fast bowler Abdur Rauf and One-day International quickie Mohammad Irfan looked out of sorts in hot and humid conditions with the mercury levels rising up to 40 degrees Celsius.
The spinners were called up but they too were dispatched to all parts of the ground.
Tigers finally got the break through in the 13th over when left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar bowled Asif Hussain with a beautifully flighted delivery. Asif scored 50 runs off 34 balls with the help of two sixes and four boundaries.
He and Asif Ali put on 125 runs for the second-wicket stand.
Asif Ali, who was not a part of the initial team, did not show any sort of nerves and struck seven towering sixes and nine fours in his 59-ball century at a strike-rate of 169.49 before falling to left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza as he tried to heave one over the mid-wicket region oly to be brilliantly caught by Yasir Arafat Jr.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq chipped in with 32 runs. Abdur Rauf (36-1), Zulfiqar Babar (37-1) and Ahmed Raza (46-1) took one-wicket each in a sorry bowling display by Tigers.
In reply, Tigers had no answer to left-arm spinner Hasan Mahmood and were all out on 130 in 18.2 overs.
Hasan took five wickets as Tigers, who got off to a decent start while taking full advantage of the fielding restrictions, lost wickets at regular intervals.
At one stage, Tigers were 54-2 in 5.4 overs but their middle order offered scant resistance after the departure of Zain Abbas (23) and Zeeshan Ashraf (27).
Naseem Akram and Mohammad Hafeez claimed two wickets apiece.
Asif Ali’s batting heroics earned him the Man of the Match award.
Losing skipper Abdur Rauf acknowledged that Asif Ali’s blitz took the game away from his side.
“The youngster took the game away from us as he was unstoppable and it’s great to see someone play such a knock on his debut,” Rauf said.
“We also failed to capitalise after dismising Hafeez early. But I hope that we will bounce back strongly.”
It was Wolves’ skipper Misbah-ul-Haq who gave the opportunity to Asif Ali after his impressive performance in a practice match. And he was full of praise for the youngster.
“Asif played an exceptional innings. Such innings are very rare from someone batting on his debut and this is a good sign for us,” Misbah said.
Wolves coach Ijaz Ahmed Jr, who was appointed on the eleventh hour ahead of Umar Rasheed, said that selectors should take a serious look at the budding Asif.
“He is an extraordinary player and the selectors should look at him because I believe he will go on to become a star for Pakistan,” he said.
ìI’m amazed the way he played. At the same time, I’m astonished at how we failed to spot such a talent in the last two to three years because last time around, he was a part of the squad but wasn’t given a chance.”
The Wolves coach added that he and Misbah had discussed about Asif after the match as well and the Pakistan captain is seriously impressed by how well the youngster has grabbed the opportunity.
Brief scores:
Faisalabad Wolves: 199-3 in 20 overs (Asif Ali 100, Asif Hussain 50; Abdur Raud 1-36)
Multan Tigers: 130 all-out in 18.2 overs (Zeeshan Ashraf 27, Zain Abbas 23; Hasan Mehmood 5-23, Mohammad Hafeez 2-20)
After being sent in to bat first by Tigers skipper Abdur Rauf, Wolves amassed 199-3 in 20 overs.
Rauf’s call to bowl first on a batting-friendly track paid immediate dividends when he dismissed the dangerous Mohammad Hafeez on the very first ball.
But from then on, it was a toil for the Tigers as Asif Hussain took attack to the opposition; hitting three boundaries in the same over.
Hussain was joined by Asif Ali, a blacksmith in his early days and the duo played with utmost ease as they found the boundary in almost every over they played.
Test fast bowler Abdur Rauf and One-day International quickie Mohammad Irfan looked out of sorts in hot and humid conditions with the mercury levels rising up to 40 degrees Celsius.
The spinners were called up but they too were dispatched to all parts of the ground.
Tigers finally got the break through in the 13th over when left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar bowled Asif Hussain with a beautifully flighted delivery. Asif scored 50 runs off 34 balls with the help of two sixes and four boundaries.
He and Asif Ali put on 125 runs for the second-wicket stand.
Asif Ali, who was not a part of the initial team, did not show any sort of nerves and struck seven towering sixes and nine fours in his 59-ball century at a strike-rate of 169.49 before falling to left-arm spinner Ahmed Raza as he tried to heave one over the mid-wicket region oly to be brilliantly caught by Yasir Arafat Jr.
Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq chipped in with 32 runs. Abdur Rauf (36-1), Zulfiqar Babar (37-1) and Ahmed Raza (46-1) took one-wicket each in a sorry bowling display by Tigers.
In reply, Tigers had no answer to left-arm spinner Hasan Mahmood and were all out on 130 in 18.2 overs.
Hasan took five wickets as Tigers, who got off to a decent start while taking full advantage of the fielding restrictions, lost wickets at regular intervals.
At one stage, Tigers were 54-2 in 5.4 overs but their middle order offered scant resistance after the departure of Zain Abbas (23) and Zeeshan Ashraf (27).
Naseem Akram and Mohammad Hafeez claimed two wickets apiece.
Asif Ali’s batting heroics earned him the Man of the Match award.
Losing skipper Abdur Rauf acknowledged that Asif Ali’s blitz took the game away from his side.
“The youngster took the game away from us as he was unstoppable and it’s great to see someone play such a knock on his debut,” Rauf said.
“We also failed to capitalise after dismising Hafeez early. But I hope that we will bounce back strongly.”
It was Wolves’ skipper Misbah-ul-Haq who gave the opportunity to Asif Ali after his impressive performance in a practice match. And he was full of praise for the youngster.
“Asif played an exceptional innings. Such innings are very rare from someone batting on his debut and this is a good sign for us,” Misbah said.
Wolves coach Ijaz Ahmed Jr, who was appointed on the eleventh hour ahead of Umar Rasheed, said that selectors should take a serious look at the budding Asif.
“He is an extraordinary player and the selectors should look at him because I believe he will go on to become a star for Pakistan,” he said.
ìI’m amazed the way he played. At the same time, I’m astonished at how we failed to spot such a talent in the last two to three years because last time around, he was a part of the squad but wasn’t given a chance.”
The Wolves coach added that he and Misbah had discussed about Asif after the match as well and the Pakistan captain is seriously impressed by how well the youngster has grabbed the opportunity.
Brief scores:
Faisalabad Wolves: 199-3 in 20 overs (Asif Ali 100, Asif Hussain 50; Abdur Raud 1-36)
Multan Tigers: 130 all-out in 18.2 overs (Zeeshan Ashraf 27, Zain Abbas 23; Hasan Mehmood 5-23, Mohammad Hafeez 2-20)
Published by Unknown
on 04:48.
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