FAISALABAD: Pakistan T20 captain Babar Azam hit his 30th List-A century to inspire Stallions to a 174-run victory over Dolphins in the Champions One-Day Cup match here at the Iqbal Stadium on Thursday.

The right-hander became the first batter from the country to reach the milestone, as he helped Stallions post 271 before Dolphins were bundled out for just 97 in response.

The win ensured Stallions a place in the playoff stage while Dolphins rued their third consecutive defeat. Apart from Stallions, Markhors and Panthers have sealed their spot in the playoffs.

The takers of the fourth playoff place will be decided when Dolphins take on Lions on Sunday.

Babar hit an unbeaten 104 off 100 balls clubbing seven fours and three sixes including a boundary on penultimate ball of the innings to bring up his record century.

Yasir Khan (46 off 58, five fours), Shan Masood (34 off 36, three fours) and Tayyab Tahir (33 off 49, four fours) were the other notable contributors for Stallions.

In turn, Mehran Mumtaz (3-14) and Jahandad Khan (3-18) picked up three wickets each as Dolphins fell for a paltry score with half of the innings to spare.

After Stallions won the toss and elected to bat first, Shan and Yasir provided a solid opening partnership of 76 runs before falling in 13th and 17th overs, respectively. Babar and Tayyab stitched a 57-run third-wicket partnership before the latter fell in the 30th over.

Hussain Talat chipped in with 23 off 25 balls with the help of two fours while also adding 46 with Babar for the fifth wicket. The eighth-wicket partnership between Babar and Haris Rauf stretched for 41 runs in 23 balls with the latter only contributing three runs. All six Dolphins bowlers picked up one wicket each.

Jahandad’s three-wicket burst with the new ball left Dolphins at 40-3 before the other bowlers struck at regular intervals as they lost remaining seven wickets for just 57 runs.

Abrar Ahmed dismissed the top scorers for Dolphins, Sahibzada Farhan (32 off 36, six fours) and Asif Ali (21 off 28, three fours). Haris Rauf bagged two wickets as well.

Scores in brief

STALLIONS 271-7 in 50 overs (Babar Azam 104 not out, Yasir Khan 46, Shan Masood 34, Tayyab Tahir 33; Saud Shakeel 1-14, Qasim Akram 1-42, Faheem Ashraf 1-48); DOLPHINS 97 in 25 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 32, Asif Ali 21; Mehran Mumtaz 3-14, Jahandad Khan 3-18, Abrar Ahmed 2-15, Haris Rauf 2-28).

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2024