Salman & Nazir Overpower Bowlers in Tigers' Win

Salman Butt continued his prolific form in Monday’s practice game here at the National Stadium as he guided Pakistan Tigers to an emphatic nine-wicket triumph over Pakistan Panthers with an unbeaten fifty.

The left-handed opener hit an entertaining 74 while fellow opener Imran Nazir scored 63 as the Tigers reached the victory target of 159 for just one wicket in just 13.2 overs.

Pakistan’s pace star Shoaib Akhtar played in the Twenty20 game after missing the first three matches held at the Karachi-leg of the training game. Shoaib bowled three overs each in either innings but went without a wicket in the entire match.

Batting first, Panthers scored 158-7 in 20 overs. Youngster Khalid Latif top scored for the team with a 29-ball 40 which included five fours and two sixes. Fawad Alam and Misbah-ul-Haq chipped in with 26 each. Shahid Afridi took 3-29. Shoaib bowled three overs for 24 runs.

Butt and Nazir made 136 runs for the opening wicket as Tigers cruised to victory without much fuss. Butt hit 12 fours and a six in his 45-ball 74 while Nazir faced just 28 balls for his whirlwind 63 that included eight fours and three sixes. Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik was unbeaten at 14. Left-arm spinner Abdul Rehman finished with 1-31.

After matches on successive days, the 26 players taking part in the practice games will have a rest day. However, team manager Talat Ali Malik said that the players will have physical training sessions. The next practice match will be played tomorrow (Wednesday).

Pakistan are currently preparing for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup to be played in South Africa from September 11-24.