Peshawar Panthers defeated Sialkot Stallions by eight wickets in the ABN-AMRO Cup Gold League final at Karachi to claim the title of domestic limited-overs champions.
The heavy rains throughout Sunday drew doubts over whether the match would be played at all, but come Monday the city was bathed in brilliant sunshine. The match was reduced to a 40-overs-a-side affair due to a late start, and Sialkot, put in to bat first, could only manage a poor 137 in just 27.4 overs. Peshawar had little trouble chasing it down with 25 deliveries to spare.
Arshad Khan, the Peshawar captain and former international, captured 3 for 18 in 7.4 overs with his offbreaks while Zohaib Khan, the young left-arm spinner, bagged 3 for 31 in six overs. The rest chipped in usefully and after a 64-run second-wicket stand between Atiq-ur-Rehman (42) and Mansoor Amjad (23), the remaining batsmen failed. The last seven wickets fell for 34 runs in ten overs.
Yasir Hameed, not included in Pakistan's World Cup squad, led the way with an unbeaten 73 off 105 balls with four fours and three sixes as Peshawar won with ease. His second-wicket stand with Jannisar Khan, whose 35 came off 60 balls with four boundaries, produced 81.
Peshawar received the trophy and Rs 250,000 (US$4,118) in cash, while Sialkot received Rs 125,000 (US$2,059). Three of the four individual awards, all worth Rs 25,000 (US$411) each, were given to best batsman Khurram Manzoor (Karachi Zebras), best bowler Zohaib Khan (Peshawar Panthers) and best wicketkeeper Humayun Farhat (Lahore Eagles). The best fielder's prize was shared by Khalid Latif (Karachi Dolphins) and Manzoor.