RAWALPINDI: A combined bowling effort, followed by an anchoring half-century by opener Abdul Wahid Bangalzai steered Panthers to a resounding six-wicket victory over Dolphins in the 13th match of the Champions T20 Cup here at the Rawalpindi Stadium on Monday.
Put into bat first, the bottom-placed side’s batting unit struggled against Panthers’ disciplined bowling attack could amass 106/9 in 20 overs.
The Sarfaraz Ahmed-mentored side had a disastrous start to their innings as they were 3/5 in two overs.
Opening batter Mirza Tahir Baig attempted to launch a counterattack with his 13-ball 19 but Mohammad Wasim Jr sent him packing in the sixth over to intensify Dolphins’ woes.
Dolphins kept losing at regular intervals despite some notable contributions in the middle by Qasim Akram (14), Muhammad Akhlaq (19) and Faheem Ashraf, who top-scored for his side with a 34-ball 25.
Wasim Jr led the bowling charge for the Panthers with three wickets, followed by Amad Butt and Arafat Minhas with two each, while Ali Raza chipped in with a wicket.
Chasing a modest 107, Panthers soared to a six-wicket victory with 30 balls to spare.
The Shadab Khan-led side, however, had a contrasting start as they had lost three wickets for just 14 runs inside three overs until Abdul Wahid Bangalzai and Danish Aziz made recovery.
The duo added 82 runs for the fourth wicket to put Panthers in touching distance of their third victory in the tournament.
Bangalzai remained the top-scorer for the Panthers with a 38-ball 51, comprised of six fours and two sixes, while Danish made an unbeaten 38 off 34 balls.
For Dolphins, Ihsanullah and Sameen Gul claimed two wickets each.
The six-wicket victory lifted Panthers to third in Champions T20 Cup standings with six points in six matches, while Dolphins remained at the bottom as they remained winless after playing five matches.
