Ahmed Shehzad's 78 off 49 deliveries ensured that the Lahore Lions made it to the semi finals of the Faysal Bank Super 8 T20 Cup unbeaten as they defeated Hyderabad Hawks by 8 runs in their final league game.

Pakistan's former openers shone on the 2nd day of the Faysal Bank Super 8 T20 Cup in Faisalabad today in a high scoring match between the Lahore Lions and Sialkot Stallions.

Pakistan's ICC World Twenty20 squad members were given a rest from the RBS 20-20 Cup final, which was contested tonight between the Lahore Lions and the Sialkot Stallions.

The Stallions' skipper, Shoaib Malik, along with the Lions' openers Salman Butt and Ahmed Shehzad, and Kamran Akmal were given a day off before they fly out to England, along with the rest of the squad, tomorrow.

Imran Nazir stepped in for Shoaib Malik and captained the Stallions, taking them to their 4th consecutive domestic twenty20 title.

Batting first, the Lions posted 150 on the back of a typical Imran Farhat knock of 47 off 27 deliveries (6 fours, 2 sixes).

Imran Nazir was once again at the top of his game and took the match away from the Lions with his 3rd fifty in 4 matches. Nazir smashed the Lions around for a 26 ball 57 that included 3 sixes and 6 fours.

Nazir posted his 50 off only 17 deliveries, which was one of the fastest 50s in all twenty20 cricket. But he couldn't better his 2005 effort of 14 balls.

Imran Nazir's awesome form in the 20-20 cup, which he ended as the leading run scorer (211 runs in 4 innings at an average of 70), is a reminder to the selectors of what they are missing. He needs to be whisked away from domestic cricket and hurled back into the Pakistan ranks asap!

He wasn't the only "ICL rebel" who reminded the PCB selectors of where they had wronged in the past; Abdul Razzak was the leading wicket taker of the RBS Cup with 11 wickets in 5 matches, and well ahead of all others.

Something to think about PCB selectors!

For all those who keep doubting Kamran Akmal behind the stumps, here's a little something to think about: no one in Pakistan's domestic circles comes close to him when it comes to wicket keeping.

Contrary to what I reported yesterday, Pakistan's ICC World Twenty20 squad members did turn out for the RBS 20-20 Cup semi finals.

Salman Butt (25 off 33) and Ahmed Shehzad (10 off 13) once again showed why the PCB selectors have been so wrong in their choice of openers for the 20-20 world cup.

Hell, Salman Butt hasn't even opened in the last few matches.

Lahore Lions have so many of them in these two, Nasir Jamshed (1st ball duck), and Imran Farhat (33 off 27), that it confuses Abdul Razzak.

Butt, Shehzad, and Nasir have taken turns in getting those 1st ball ducks. Well it was 2nd ball ducks for the former two, but you know what I mean.

Despite that, the Lahore Lions won a close match against the Islamabad Leopards and booked their place in tonight's final.

If it wasn't for Kamran Akmal the Lions would have been embarassed, but he managed a well made unbeaten 27 off 18 deliveries with 2 sixes and a boundary, to take them home by 3 wickets in the last over.

Razzak hasn't used Akmal well during the RBS Cup. In the first 2 games, he didn't get a hit; and then in the last game and the semi he batted at numbers 7 and 8. With the World Twenty20 around the corner, I believe Akmal should have been given more batting practice.

Akmal's keeping however has been top notch! - with another 2 catches in the semi, he's on 9 dismissals in 4 matches.

In the 2nd semi final, the defending champions Sialkot Stallions easily beat the Lahore Eagles after posting 181 in their 20 overs.

Imran Nazir faced only 10 deliveries - 4 he missed or hit to the fielders, 3 of them he hit out of the ground, 2 of them he hit to the boundary, and 1 he got out on. And that is what he scored - 26 off 10.

Oh how we are going to miss him at the 20-20 world cup.

Shoaib Malik continued his good run with the bat with an aggressive 45 off 27 balls with 5 boundaries.

The Stallions are not only the defending champions but they have also won the domestic 20-20 title thrice in 3 years.

If they beat the Lahore Lions, who have been on a rampage under Razzak, they will make it 4 in a row.

Can the Lions stop them?

Should be a cracker tonight.

The Dolphins and the Stallions both won their semi finals against the Leopards and Lions respectively to set up a repeat of last season's domestic 20-20 cup final.

The Final - Preview

Tonight, the Shahid Afridi led Dolphins will take on the Stallions, who are led by Shoaib Malik and are also the defending champions.

Afridi will be eager to add a 2nd title to his cap after leading the Karachi side to the Pentangular Cup title earlier this year.

Afridi will also be looking to avenge the loss the Dolphins faced at the hand of the Stallions in the same final last season.

Afridi did not play that final as he had left for Hajj just a day before, but he was instrumental in taking the Dolphins that far.

Tonight, Afridi will be keen to prove a point and get one up on Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik.

It is no secret that Afridi has been lobbying for the Pakistan captaincy, while Malik has been trying to get Afridi out of the Pakistan team.

This rivalry between Afridi and Malik will definitely be witnessed in today's RBS 20-20 Cup Final between the Dolphins and the Stallions, who are looking to win the tournament for a 3rd consecutive time.

The Semi Finals - Review

Last night in the Semis, the Karachi Dolphins eased past the Islamabad Leopards who were bowled out for only 68 on the back of an outstanding bowling performance.

Sohail Khan (2-5), Anwar Ali (1-13), Malik Aftab (3-17), and Afridi (1-9) were too hot to handle for the Leaopards who lasted for only 16 overs.

The Dolphins got to the total in only 10 overs with the loss of 1 wicket.

The 2nd semi final between the Sialkot Stallions and the Lahore Lions was a much closer contest, with Malik's team winning by a mere 6 runs.

Winning the toss and electing to bat, the Stallions' innings never got going as they ended their 20 overs on 117-6 with Abdur Rehman and Mansoor Amjad unbeaten on 16 and 12 respectively. Kamran Younis, with 36 off 54 balls, was their top scorer.

The Lions' spinners Sohail Ahmed (3-22) and Waqas Ahmed (2-17) had done a brilliant job in keeping the Stallions' scoring rate under check.

What should have been an easy target for the Lions looked too much at the end as spinners Kamran Younis and Shoaib Malik gave away only 30 runs in 8 overs between them, picking up 3 wickets along the way.

Only Salman Butt, with a 38 ball 32, put up some resistance as the Lions ended their innings on 111-6. Waqas Ahmed tried a lone hand at the end smashing an unbeaten 31 off only 12 deliveries but the Lions fell 6 runs short.

Mohammad Yousuf took 34 deliveries to score 17, as he failed for the 3rd time in this tournament.

The Final - Prediction

Tonight as the Stallions look to defend their title against the Dolphins, I safely put my money on Shahid Afridi and his team.

The Stallions have won the previous 2 domestic 20-20 tournaments but this time round they are missing key players in Imran Nazir, Mohammad Asif, Rana Naveed, Shahid Yousuf, and Shehzad Malik.

The fact that they have got to the final without these players is a major achievement but tonight against a strong Dolphins side, the Stallions will have their hands full.

The Dolphins could easily pass as an international side with the likes of Khurram Manzoor, Khalid Latif, Naumanullah, Fawad Alam, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali, and Sohail Khan in their ranks.

Their batting and bowling looks more balanced than that of the Stallions and I believe the Dolphins are the favorites to walk away with the title tonight.

The Dolphins, Stallions, Lions, and Leopards easily won their must win matches on the last day of the league games to seal a spot in the semi finals of the RBS National 20-20 Cup.

Group A

The Karachi Dolphins eased past the Abbotabad Rhinos winning their match by 6 wickets after bowling the Rhinos out for 96. The inexperiences Rhinos had no answer in front of the pace of Anwar Ali and Malik Aftab along with the spin and guile of Afridi and Faraz Ahmed.

Group B

Sialkot Stallions, the defending champions, easily chased their target of 143 against the Hyderabad Hawks as skipper Shoaib Malik and allrounder Kamran Younis hit half centuries.

Pacer Kashif Raza (2-24) and left arm spinner Abdur Rehman (2-24) had done well to restrict the Hawks to 142. Later Shoaib Malik (61* off 46) and Kamran Younis (65* off 56) came together to forge an unbeaten 113 run partnership for the 3rd wicket to take the Stallions into the semis with ease.

Group C

Multan Tigers, who had shocked the Panthers the day before, did well do get to 141 but could not restrict the Islamabad Leopards who chased the runs in 17.2 overs to improve their net run rate and qualify ahead of the Tigers and the Panters.

Shoaib Akhtar gave a much improved performance for the Leopards last night giving away only 14 runs in his 4 overs and picking up 1 wicket. U19 captain Imad Wasim (2-25) and the Leopards skipper Rao Iftikhar (2-36) did well to keep the Tigers down to 141.

Abdur Rauf and Kamran Hussain who had shocked the Panthers with their pace and swing could not keep the Leaopards quiet as domestic star Ashar Zaidi plundered an unbeaten 42 off 18 deliveries to take the Leopards into the semis.

Group D

In the last match of the night, the Lahore Lions beat the Rawal Pindi Rams by 21 runs as spinner Sohail Ahmed's 4-13 restricted the Rams to 150 as they chased 172 in pursuit of a semi final spot.

International openers Salman Butt (21) and Nasir Jamshed (23) had given the Lions an explosive start with a 43 run opening partnership in 5 overs, while Kamran Akmal ended the innings with a bang hitting 49 off 37 deliveries to take them to 171 in 20 overs.

Mohammad Yousuf failed for the 2nd time in a row scoring 10 runs before being run out.

Promising left arm pacer, Mohammad Aamer impressed again with figures of 3-13 for the Rams, while yesterday's hero Yasir Arafat went for 50 runs of his 4 overs.

Babar Naeem and Umar Amin started well for the Rams posting a 79 run opening partnership in 9 overs but then their innings fell through as Wahab Riaz (2-22) and Shakeel Ahmed (4-13) ran through the middle order.

The Semi Finals

Semi Final 1: Karachi Dolphins vs Islamabad Leopards
Semi Final 2: Lahore Lions vs Sialkot Stallions

Today is the final day of league games of the RBS 20-20 Cup with the 4 semi final spots up for grabs.

This is what the points table looks like thus far.

Group A

The Dolphins with 2 wins out of 2 look set to make it from group A, however the Wolves do have an outside chance if they beat the Eagles by a high margin and the Dolphins lose to the lowly rated Rhinos.

Highly unlikely but possible.

This was the toughest group of the tournament with a former champion and a former runner up pooled together.

Looks like Afridi will be taking a shot at a 2nd domestic title for his team this year.

Group B

The winner of today's game between the Stallions and the Hawks will determine who will go through to the semi finals from Group B.

The Karachi Zebras were thrown out of the competition by the Hyderabad Hawks last night as they failed to chase a competitive 169.

The Hawks batting charge was led by allrounder Rizwan Ahmed who smashed a 43 ball 57 and experienced domestic player Shahid Qambrani who belted an unbeaten 48 off 36 balls.

In response the Zebras started in emphatic fashion with an opening partnership of 87 before the rest of the batting collapsed losing the 8 wickets for 25 runs. Left arm spinner Nauman Ali (2-16) and part timer Faisal Athar (3-7) were the wreckers-in-chief.

Shoaib Malik's Stallions, who are chasing their 3rd consecutive 20-20 title, are the favorites to join the Dolphins in tomorrow' semi-finals.

Group C

Multan Tigers' unlikely 7 wicket victory over the Peshawar Panthers last night has given them a strong chance of making it to the semi finals.

If the Tigers beat the Leaopards tonight, they will be through; however a victory for the Leaopards will give the Panthers a lease of life and net run rates will come into play.

Last night the Tigers' internationals, Abdur Rauf (2-11) and Kamran Hussain (3-10) sent the Panthers crashing to 103 all out as their famed batting line up of Yasir Hameed (8), Wajahatullah Wasti (2), Jannisar Khan (0), Rafatullah Mohmand (0), and skipper Younis Khan (0) fell to quality swing bowling.

The Panthers were reeling at 15-6 before Aftab Alam took them to a somewhat respectable total with a polished 52 off 49 deliveries.

The Tigers' batsmen, though inexperienced, easily reached the target in 16 overs, while losing 3 wickets on their way.

Group D

Tonight, the Lions will fight it out with the Rams for the final slot in the semi finals.

Last night, the Rawal Pindi Rams ended the Quetta Bears' campaign after they thrashed them by 75 runs.

The Rams' quality pace battery of Sohail Tanvir (3-20), Yasir Arafat (3-5), and Mohammad Aamer (2-13) helped fold the Bears innings up for 67.

Earlier Arafat had played a cruicial role with the bat scoring 35 off 26 deliveries, after the Rams had been struggling on 59-5, guiding them to a total of 142.

Semi Finals

These will be played out tomorrow and I think it will involve the Dolphins, Stallions, Lions, and Tigers. Though the Rams look like most likely of teams to upset te Lions.

Stay tuned for updated.

Pakistan's new domestic season (2008-09) kicked off last night with the opening matches of the RBS National 20-20 Championship.

5 matches were played on the opening day around Lahore including 2 Group A matches and a match each from Group B, C, and D.

The day began with Misbah's Faisalabad Wolves taking on the inexperienced Abbotabad Rhinos.

Despite chasing only 148, the Rhinos fell short by 20 runs as Mohammad Talha, the U19 pacer, and Samiullah Khan Niazi picked up 5 wickets between them.

The Wolves posted a total of 148-6 on the back of opener Mohammad Hafeez's 53 ball 62 that included a six and 4 boundaries. Hafeez was well supported by Misbah who scored a 25 ball 30, but the Wolves fell short of a higher total as the Rhinos' spinners Yasir Shah and Khalid Usman kept the batsmen quiet.

In the 2nd game Shahid Afridi's Karachi Dolphins showed why they are one of the favorites to win the title as they beat the Lahore Eagles by 25 runs.

Batting first the Dolphins posted 184-7 in their 20 overs. The Dolphins' charge was led by Fawad Alam (55 off 42), who continued his good run of form following his Academy heroics on the tour of Africa.

Khurram Manzoor (16 off 12), Khalid Latid (14 off 10), Naumanullah (41 off 25), Afridi (23 off 17), and Anwar Ali (11 off 4) all contributed to the Dolphins' match winning total.

The Eagles could manage only 159-9 in response as Anwar Ali, who like Fawad had an outstanding Academy tour, ripped through their batting line up with 3-8 off 3 overs.

Afridi (2-18) and Sohail Khan (2-26) were the other key wicket takers for the Dolphins.

The Lahore Lions, who like the Dolphins are one of the favorites, beat the Quetta Bears by 2 runs, in what was a thrilling match.

Batting first, the Lions posted 187-4 as Pakistan opener Salman Butt showed fine form scoring an unbeaten 99 off only 67 balls with 10 boundaries and 3 sixes. Butt was unlucky to miss out on a ton as the Lions innings came to a close.

Earlier Butt had been involved in a 77 run opening partnership with Nasir Jamshed (22) that had laid the foundation for the Lions' high total.

Mohammad Yousuf, the Lions' captain, failed to impress as he scored only 5 before holing out to off-spinner Naseer Khan.

The Bears began their reply in emphatic fashion as Shoaib Khan smashed a 54 ball 85 at the top of the innings. Shoaib was well supported by the other inexperienced batsmen but he fell in the last over of the innings as the Bears fell short by only 2 runs.

Defending champions Sialkot Stallions easily beat the Karachi Zebras by 32 runs.

The Stallions had fallen to 39-3, before they were rescued by Qaiser Abbas (49) and Shoaib Malik (39) who shared a 73 run partnership for the 4th wicket to lead them to 179-9 off their 20 overs.

In response the Zebras could manage only 147. Left armer Sarfraz Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 3-16.

The last match of the night between the Peshawar Panthers and Islamabad Leopards marked the return of Shoaib Akhtar to domestic cricket in Pakistan.

All the talk about non payment of fine, fitness problems, etc were put to rest when Shoaib was at the start of his run up to bowl the first over of the match. He managed a wicket of the last delivery of his 1st over but failed to impress overall with figures of 1-30 off 4 overs.

Younis Khan top scored for the Panthers with a 26-ball unbeaten 45 to lead them to a match winning total of 175-7. The Leaopards lost by 14 runs ending their innings on 161-9.

Another 5 matches will be played today around Lahore and everyone's eyes will be on the potential cracker - Misbah's Faisalabad Wolves taking on Afridi's Karachi Dolphins.

Stay tuned to Well Pitched for updates.