It was tale of two centuries at the National Stadium in Karachi with Karachi Whites opener Shahzaib Hasan’s 171 trumping Islamabad opener Shan Masood’s 136. In a 680-run match, Anwar Ali, who last played for Pakistan in March 2016, also made an impact, sealing Karachi Whites’ place in the final with career-best List A returns of 5 for 49.
After being sent in, Karachi Whites lost Arsalan Bashir to seamer Shehzad Azam in the third over, but Shahzaib and captain Akbar-ur-Rehman lifted their side with a 162-run stand in 27.1 overs. By the time Akbar departed in the 31st over, Shazaib was into the 120s. He pressed onto his 150 off 106 balls, then fell in the 40th over for 171 off 117 balls, including 18 fours and seven sixes.
Saad Ali (61), Anwar Ali (45), and Tariq Harron (31*) followed up with late blows as Karachi Whites got their total up to 375.
Anwar then sparkled with the ball, slicing through Islamabad’s middle and lower order. At 235 for 3 in the 36th over, Islamabad were in the hunt, but they lost their last seven wickets for just 70 runs. The collapse came after Masood was the architect of a pair of strong stands with Abid Ali and Faizan Riaz, 99 and 91 respectively. Masood went onto hit 136 off 116 balls before he was the fifth Islamabad batsman to be dismissed. Agencies
