Wolves stumble in opening encounter

Defending champions Faisalabad Wolves began their defense of the 2005-06 Twenty20 badly, losing to Peshawar Panthers by 34 runs in the opening Pool A match at the National Stadium in Karachi. Jannisar Khan, a former Pakistan Under-19, first hit a quick 37 off 23 balls with five fours and a six and then took three for 11 runs in 2.1 overs to set up the win after his skipper, Younis Khan, had won the toss and elected to bat.

Peshawar lost two early wickets but Jannisar and Rifatullah Mohmand, who top-scored with 68 runs, put on 84 for the third wicket to take them to 185 for five. Younis added 35 off 20 balls. In reply, Faisalabad were bowled out for 151 runs with four batsmen failing to score. Only one partnership of any value was constructed, 63 runs for the fifth wicket, and only the opener Asif Hussain who hit 61 runs off 44 balls with five fours and four sixes and Ijaz Ahmed Junior with 44 made any real contributions.

Sialkot Stallions, with sizeable contributions from Pakistan stars Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Asif, defeated Lahore Eagles at the United Bank Limited (UBL) ground in Karachi by just eight runs. Malik's violent 60 - with seven fours and two sixes - took advantage of a good start from Imran Nazir and led his side to an imposing 203. Asif then took over, taking three middle-order wickets as Lahore fell to 140 for eight, Imran Farhat, another Pakistan player, top-scoring for Lahore with 62, made from only 37 balls. But a rousing ninth-wicket stand of 55 - in only four overs - between Arsalan Mir and Mohammad Khalil almost took Lahore to victory before, fittingly, Asif returned to dismiss Khalil for his fourth and final wicket.

Karachi Zebras, boosted by a 54-ball 78 from opener Ashraf Ali, defeated Rawalpindi Rams by 13 runs. Having surprisingly been put into bat Ali and Khurram Manzoor gave Karachi the perfect platform, from which they sprung to 188 for four. In reply, Rawalpindi Rams relied solely on a spectacular 94-run fourth-wicket partnership between skipper Naved Ashraf (57) and Pervez Aziz (40) to take them near the target. But the rest of their batsmen added only a further 45 runs - and the pair had come in at 36 for three - as they collapsed to 175 for nine. Karachi's captain and Pakistan reject Hasan Raza took two for 17 from three economical overs to lead his side to an opening-game win.

In the battle of the Twenty20 debutantes, Abbottabad Rhinos narrowly edged out Islamabad Leopards by one run at the National Bank Pakistan Stadium in Karachi by one run. After Sajid Shah, the Abbottabad captain, won the toss and elected to bat former Pakistan opener and current guest player, Ali Naqvi blasted 54 off 27 deliveries with six fours and two sixes to help his side to 186 for four. With his part-time medium-pace, Naqvi then dismissed Raheel Majeed, who top-scored with 41 runs and despite Sufyan Munir's valiant 40, Islamabad fell heartbreakingly short of the target.

Hyderabad Hawks' fast-medium and off-spin combination of Farhan Ayub and Shoaib Leghari picked up six wickets between them for 35 runs in seven overs to bundle out Quetta Bears for 112 to notch up a comprehensive 28-run win. No batsmen scored more than 43 in a low-scoring battle between the two weakest teams in Pool B. Adil Nisar had earlier taken four cheap wickets to restrict Hyderabad, who at 110 for three, were looking at a big total. In reply, Quetta never got going, losing wickets at regular intervals as Ayub turned in a Man-of-the-Match performance.

Abdul Razzaq led his Lahore Lions side to a thrilling one-wicket win in the day's last, and most exciting game, over Karachi Dolphins. Razzaq took two wickets and scored a typically blistering 63 - off only 30 balls - to pull off an unexpected win. Karachi had piled up 199 thanks to Afsar Nawaz's 71 and Faisal Iqbal's solid 34 and the chase seemed to be beyond Lahore as Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Yousuf struggled against tight bowling at the start. The asking rate was over 14 at one stage even when Razzaq was firing but with 15 needed from Fawad Alam's last over, Imran Tahir smacked a four and then a six to put Lahore in the driving seat for the first time in the match. The win was sealed with a cover boundary, with one ball remaining.