Faisalabad Wolves rode on its captain Misbah-ul-Haq’s heroic innings to beat Kandurata Maroons by 10 runs in its last qualifying match of the Champions League T20 at the PCA Stadium here on Friday.
Misbah, asked to bat first, again bailed out his team from a precarious situation, four down for 56 in the 10th over, to post a decent total of 146 for six. His bowlers struck at regular intervals to limit Maroons to 136 for seven and register a face-saving win.
Maroons, also out of the tournament, finished with three defeats.
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As wickets kept tumbling at the other end, Misbah, dropped on one off Milinda Siriwardana, kept his composure and attacked the Maroons bowlers on every possible opportunity. His entertaining second consecutive half-century included seven fours all over the park and five sixes slotted down the ground.
Misbah forged a 74-run partnership with Mohammad Salman for the fifth wicket which helped Wolves record its highest total in the tournament.
Even without any significant contribution from most of his partners, Kumar Sangakkara, let off twice, scored a 36-ball 44 to keep Maroons in the hunt.
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Ehsan Adil accounted for three Maroons batsmen and Imran Khalid claimed two as Wolves maintained the pressure till the end.
The contest came down to 24 off six balls. But Adil thwarted a late charge by Siriwardana in the final over.