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.

In the match of the day, the Lahore Lions beat the Faisalabad Wolves, to qualify for the semi finals of the RBS 20-20 Cup.

Abdul Razzak continued his fine form in the competition and reminded the Pakistan selectors of what they have been missing for a long time.

After his whirlwind century yesterday, Razzak made the ball talk today with a haul of 4-13, which helped restrict the Wolves to a low chaseable total.

Ahmed Shehzad (23 off 13) finally showed that he can bat at a better strike rate than 100, while this time it was Salman Butt's turn to get out for a 2nd ball duck.

Kamran Akmal (12* off 4) finally got a hit in the middle and all he needed was 4 deliveries to hit a 6 and a 4 to bring up the 5-wkt win for the Lions.

He continued his form behind the stumps with another 2 dismissals; he may finally make it into the Pakistan team as only a keeper!

Misbah continues to be absent from the Wolves' ranks. Where is he? He has disappeared after the Pakistan camp in the mountains. He even missed the 2 warm up matches that Pakistan played before this RBS Cup.

The Lahore Eagles who boast of no big names sprung a surprise on the favorites, the Karachi Dolphins, who look more like a Pakistan international team, beating them by 11 runs and qualifying for the semis.

Fawad Alam never fails to score or impress and was at his best today as well with an aggressive knock of 51 off 36 deliveries with a six and five boundaries.

If this isn't enough for Younis Khan then I don't know what Alam needs to do to get into a Pakistan playing XI.

Sohail Tanvir (2-18 off 4) picked up wickets again today, however what was a good sign was him being economical. Its good for Pakistan that he is getting into some form before the ICC World Twenty20.

Mohammad Aamer (3-20), the 17 year old left armer who is touted as the next big bowling thing for Pakistan and has been picked in the World Twenty20 squad, hit some form too, albeit after 2 very expensive games.

In the final match of the night, Imran Nazir once again lit up the Gaddafi with a belligerent 29 ball 60 with 9 fours and 2 sixes.

How Pakistan are going to miss him in the 20-20 world cup. He needs to be recalled back into the national team soon.

Shoaib Malik, the Stallions' skipper, was in great touch as well while knocking an unbeaten 62 off only 37 deliveries. His knock included a six and 6 boundaries.

These are good positive signs for Pakistan with most of their World Twenty20 squad members getting good hits out in the middle in 20-20 cricket. The bowlers have also done well.

The semi finals are tomorrow with Razzak's Lahore Lions taking on the Islamabad Leopards; and Malik's Sialkot Stallions clashing with the Lahore Eagles.

Still can't believe the Dolphins did not make it.

I hear that the Pakistan world twenty20 squad members will not be appearing in the semi finals.
They have been given a 2 day rest before they fly to England to play a couple of warm up 20-20 matches against South Africa (1st June) and India (3rd June), before starting their World Twenty20 campaign against hosts England on 7th June.

The day started with the news of why Shoaib Akhtar did not lead the Islamabad Leopards last night, and ended with the first century of the RBS 20-20 Cup.

Apparently the PCB contacted the Islamabad Cricket Association and told them that if they included Shoaib, he would be in violation of his central contract by not following the advice of PCB's medical experts.

That ends the genital warts saga, or maybe not so. Shoaib still has to speak and he will soon I think.

The 1st century of the RBS 20-20 Cup came from the bat of ICL rebel Abdul Razzak, who smashed the Quetta Bears for 8 sixes and 8 boundaries in a belligerent knock of 109 off only 51 deliveries.

Razzak raced to his 100 off only 48 balls; what was even more remarkable was that his 2nd 50 came off only 15 deliveries.

In hindsight, maybe the PCB should have fought harder for the inclusion of the ICL players in the World Twenty20 squad.

Salman Butt (31 off 20) continued his run of thirties; atleast he was more attacking than yesterday, but his opening partner Ahmed Shehzad failed to open his account.

With every innings I wonder why Nasir Jamshed is not in Pakistan's squad for the 20-20 world cup. For the 2nd day in a row he out shone Butt and Ahmed, with a knock of 58.

Razzak and Nasir ensured a huge total for the Lahore Lions, which was too big for the Bears who ended up losing by 74 runs.

The Lions are looking extremely strong - particularly the batting. Kamran Akmal has not had a hit yet in 2 matches, but he has been brilliant behind the stumps - 5 dismissals in 2 days and no drops - good going Kami!

The Karachi Dolphins, my favorites for the tournament, kicked off their campaign today with a big win over the Abottabad Rhinos.

For some reason Shahid Afridi is not leading the Dolhpins; Khalid Latif is. Found that quite strange considering that Afridi has led them to a couple of finals over the last few years.

Nevertheless, Afridi (34 off 20) was in fine form with the bat, but surprisingly he didn't pick up any wickets.

Fawad Alam as always showed once again why he is so highly rated on the domestic circuit -his 70 runs came off a mere 36 deliveries and inclued 11 boundaries; he even picked up 2 wickets with his left armers.

Pakistan need to make sure they get him in the XI once the World Twenty20 starts.

Alam was involved in a 100 run partnership with the Dolphin's opener and captain, Khalid Latif who smashed a 50 ball 81. His innings included 5 sixes and 7 fours and was another reminder to the PCB selectors about their wrong choice of openers for the 20-20 world cup.

Shahzaib Hasan though, who has been picked as the reserve opener, finally showed us why Younis Khan rates him so highly with an aggressive knock of 56 while opening the innings for the Karachi Zebras.

He has to do a bit more though to show me that he is a better bet than Nasir or Khalid.

Younis Khan (38 off 28) had another good day with the bat, however he led the Panthers to their 2nd loss in as many days. His and Pakistan's strike bowler Umar Gul though had another lacklustre day - he has now gone 2 matches without a wicket.

Misbah continues to be absent from the Faisalabad Wolves' ranks, and his stand-in Mohammad Hafeez continues to shine. He followed up his 74 and 3-5 yesterday with a 56 ball 79 and 3-14 against the Rawal Pindi Rams today.

Hafeez unfortunately will remain a domestic star; he has been unable to translate similar success in previous seasons at the international level.

Sohail Tanvir finally hit some form picking up 3 wickets today, but his effort was not enough to avoid a 2nd loss for the Rams.

After 2 days, the Wolves, Stallions, Dolphins, and the Leopards are leading their groups, with the latter 3 looking set for the Semi Finals.

The Lions look like the strongest team but they face a tough challenge against the Wolves tomorrow, the winner of which will win the race to the semi finals.

The first day of the RBS 20-20 Cup in Lahore witnessed Pakistan's ICL players returning to 20-20 cricket with a bang, while the Pakistan team members warmed up for their ICC World Twenty20 campaign.

The 13 team tournament kicked off today with 5 league games in Lahore.

As was reported earlier, Shoaib Akhtar did not turn out for the Islamabad Leopards. His genitals are probably still hurting and maybe someone forgot to tell him that painkillers do no good to warts in strange areas.

Coincidentally it was the same man who replaced Shoaib in Pakistan's World Twenty20 squad that captained the Leopards - Iftikhar Anjum.

Pakistan's captain, Younis Khan, leading the Peshawar Panthers in the competition, was the pick of the batsmen on day 1 as he played a belligerent knock of 70 runs off only 46 deliveries against the Leopards.

That was a welcome innings from the Pak skipper who has been struggling for runs of late in ODIs and 20-20 cricket. It couldn't have come at a better time with the World Twenty20 round the corner.

Imran Nazir, undoubtedly Pakistan's biggest star in 20-20 cricket who caught the world's imagination with a whirlwind century in the ICL final, returned to domestic cricket in Pakistan in a way that only Imran Nazir can.

He smashed the Karachi Zebras bowling to all corners of the Gaddafi Stadium in an unbeaten 68 off only 38 deliveries that included 5 sixes and 6 fours.

His effort led the defending champions, Sialkot Stallions, to an easy 8 wicket win over the Zebras as they chased down 133 with over 7 overs to spare.

The Stallions' captain, Shoaib Malik, was the pick of the bowlers with 3-25 in his 4.

Shahzaib Hasan, the 19 year old who was recently picked in Pakistan's World Twenty20 squad and is rated highly by Younis Khan, was bowled off the first ball of the Zebras' innings.

Saeed Ajmal, celebrated his clearance from the ICC with a top bowling effort for the Faisalabad Wolves, in which he conceded only 13 runs off his 4 overs and picked up 1 wicket.

The Wolves' skipper, Misbah, was missing from action for reasons that I have no idea about.

Mohammad Hafeez captained the Wolves in Misbah's place and came out with the performance of the day. His 74 runs led the Wolves to 218-2 in their 20 overs, and then he returned to destroy Quetta with his off spinners and ended with remarkable figures of 3-5 from his 4 overs.

Another ICL returnee to the ranks today was Abdul Razzak who captained the Lahore Lions and led them to an easy 8 wicket win over the Rawal Pindi Rams. Razzak did well with the ball picking up 2-28 in his 4 overs.

Sohail Tanvir, captaining the Rams, failed with both bat and ball. He came to bat at first drop and could manage only 7 runs, while his 2 overs cost him 20.

For the Lions, both the Pakistan openers - Salman Butt (30* off 24) and Ahmed Shehzad (28 off 32) - were among the runs, while discarded opener Nasir Jamshed played a little cameo knock off 32 off 17 deliveries.

I still don't get it what Nasir is not in the World Twenty20 squad.

In other news, while keeping for the Lions, Kamran Akmal managed to hold on to 1 catch and also effected a stumping. News is that he did not drop any, nor did he concede any byes.

Yesterday I told you how Shoaib Akhtar was fuming over his omission from Pakistan's ICC World Twenty20.

Well he hasn't kept the anger inside him and has let the PCB and the team management know exactly what he thinks of them.

He has even gotten the President of Pakistan involved in this matter.

The PCB and the team management, in situations like these, is not one to remain quiet.

And they have come out in the open about Shoaib Akhtar's addiction to pain killers, according to this article in The News.

This is not a surprise, because as soon as Shoaib pulled out of Pakistan's training camp, the popular opinion doing the rounds was that Shoaib will never feature in any ICC branded cricket series because of obvious reasons.

The obvious reasons being drug testing, which takes place in ICC World Cups and Champions Trophies, but not during bilateral tours.

However, the fact that Shoaib is trying to get back in the squad implies that he may not be on any drugs that are illegal as per the WADA terms.

Even though they were illegal for the UAE, which does in fact have stricter laws against drugs than even WADA.

Whatever it is, its quite obvious that Shoaib Akhtar has little friends left within the team and the administration.

First his genital warts become public, and now his addiction to pain killing injections.

What's next?

Shoaib is set to lead the Islamabad Leopards against Younis Khan's Peshawar Panthers in the opening game of the RBS 20-20 Cup, that gets underway from tomorrow in Lahore.

This drama has not ended yet.

By this time last year, Pakistan had played the South Africans at home and toured India, but the start of the 2008-09 cricket season has been very different with no home series held and only a 20-20 tournament and an ODI series played at offshore venues.

The lack of international cricket at home has allowed the board to slightly modify their domestic cricket season.

It could have been done in a better way but whats panned out this season has been very different from the previous seasons in Pakistan and is definitely a step in the right direction.

The season kicked off with the RBS 20-20 Competition, which was battled by 13 regional teams, and won by the Sialkot Stallions for the 3rd time in a row.

That was followed by the RBS Pentangular Cup, the 4-day competition that involved the 5 regions of Pakistan, and was won by NWFP - their first domestic title ever.

These tournaments are now followed by the RBS Pentangular One-Day Cup.

The same 5 regions that were involved in the first class Pentangular Cup are competing in the One-Day version of the tournament that is being held for the first time in Pakistan.

Previously the one-day competitions have involved the 13 regional teams, but having one comprising of the 5 regions makes it more competitive.

The teams taking part are:

Punjab Stallions captained by Shoaib Malik.
Sindh Dolphins captained by Shahid Afridi.
Baluchistan Bears captained by Misbah Ul Haq.
Federal Areas Leopards captained by Shoaib Akhtar.
NWFP Panthers captained by Umar Gul.

The tournament kicked off last night with the Stallions marching to a 98 run victory over the Leopards.

Batting first, the Stallions put up a score of 305-8 in their 50 overs. Shoaib Malik top scored with 86 off 60 deliveries after the openers Salman Butt (39) and Azhar Ali (75) had put on 91 in quick time.

Nasir Jamshed, returning to cricket after a lay-off due to malaria looked in fine form scoring a quick fire 40.

Sohail Tanvir was the pick of the bowlers for the Leopards picking up 4 wickets, while skipper Shoaib Akhtar picked up 2 wickets.

In response to that Stallions' tall order, the Leopards' batsmen folded for 207 in 43 overs.

U-19 pacer Mohammad Talha started the slide picking up 2 wickets in his opening spell, while the spinners Malik, Abdur Rehman, and Mansoor Amjad shared 7 wickets between them routing the Leopards by 98 runs.

Shoaib Malik was declared man of the match for his allround effort of 86 and 2-51.

Fawad Alam is one of the many players whose career I have followed closely.

In my previous post about Fawad, I talked about his rise at the U19 and domestic level that led to his inclusion in the Pakistan side and described his prolific domestic run scoring.

In that post I also mentioned how he was one of the most under rated cricketers in Pakistan.

Fawad's recent performances for the Pakistan Academy on its tours to Zimbabwe and Kenya in August and September were exceptional as he ended both the tours as the leading run scorer on either side.

He continued his good run of form in the recently concluded RBS National 20-20 Cup, and has shown glimpses of that in the ongoing T20 Quadrangular in Canada.

I called him the finisher in my previous post and he proved just that against Sri Lanka two nights ago as he smashed an unbeaten 23 off a mere 9 balls to lead Pakistan to a nail biting victory.

On the Academy tours, however, he showed that he can also be the anchor and the team's primary batsman. Fawad batted at number 3 or 4 for the Academy team and with every match looked a better batsman.

He started the Zimabwe tour with scores of 55 and 5* in the Academy's 202 run victory in the first 4-day match and followed that up with a 101 and 9 in the next match, which the Academy also won (by 6 wickets).

In the 3 ODIs that followed, Fawad knocked 4, 68, and an unbeaten 100 in comprehensive victories for the Academy side. By the end of the tour Fawad had piled up 342 runs at an average of 68.40 in 7 innings.

The tour of Kenya started with a 4-day game, in which Steve Tikolo's 170 and 94 had set the Pakistan Academy an unlikely target of 364 with 3 and a half sessions to play.

Fawad was in his element again maintaining his outstanding form while stroking an unbeaten 108 on the last day of the match to lead the Pakistan Academy to a 4 wicket victory on the final evening of the match.

Having hit 3 centuries in his last 5 matches against Zimbabwe and Kenya, Fawad was looking in supreme touch going into the second 4-day match against Kenya.

What one witnessed in that match was a repeat of what two 16 year olds by the name of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli had done almost 2 decades ago.

Kenya had been bowled out for 209 very close to the end of days play on day 1.

Pakistan's reply began in unconvincing fashion as Khurram Manzoor walked back to the pavilion at the end of the 1st over.

That brought Fawad Alam to the crease in only the 2nd over of the innings.

A day and a half later, as the Pakistan Academy declared on 665-2, Fawad Alam and Raheel Majeed had added 612 runs for an unbroken 3rd wicket partnership, with Fawad on a career best 302 and Raheel on 318.

The Pakistan Academy also ended the Kenya tour unbeaten sweeping the ODI series 3-0.

With scores of 83,14, and 25 in the 3 ODIs, Fawad ended the tour with 554 runs in 6 innings at a remarkable average of 138.50.

In the ongoing T20 Quadrangular in Canada, Fawad did not play the 1st match against Canada. He played the next against Sri Lanka but came to bat at number 9. And in the next against Zimbabwe he just walked out to bat to hit the winning runs.

Though he won the match for Pakistan at number 9 agaist Sri Lanka, I think that is too low for a batsman of Fawad's quality.

There is no doubt in my mind that he needs to bat in the top 6. Not only in 20-20 cricket but in ODIs and test cricket as well.

This is the best time to put Fawad at the deep end.

He has a very impressive first class record and he is at the top of his game at the moment.

The question though remains - how does Fawad fit into the top 6 of a Pakistan line up?

The Sialkot Stallions completed a hatrick of domestic 20-20 titles as they beat the Karachi Dolphins by 7 wickets in the final of the RBS National 20-20 Cup last night.

Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bat first but the Dolphins' batsmen struggled against the pace of Sarfaraz Ahmed (2-23) and the spin of Shoaib Malik (2-29).

Besides Fawad Alam, who scored 40 off 31 deliveries, none of the batsmen got going as the Dolphins' innings closed at 125-9 in 20 overs.

Khalid Latid (15 off 16), Naumanullah (14 off 19), Afridi (12 off 9), and Sarfraz Ahmed (16 off 10), all got starts but none of them could build on them.

The Stallions got off to a good start with Kamran Younis (31 off 37) and Mansoor Amjad (39 off 35) easily scoring off the Dolphins' bowling.

As soon as Afridi came on though, the tide turned as the Stallions' scoring rate dropped and they lost a few wickets, but 125 was never going to be enough.

Brothers Shoaib Malik (19*) and Adeel Malik sealed the game for the Stallions in the last over of the innings as Adeel smashed an unbeaten 23 off only 11 deliveries with the help of 2 sixes and a boundary.

This was the Stallions' 3rd victory in a row in the domestic 20-20 championship and they now join the champions and the runners up from the IPL, Australia, South Africa, and England in the inaugral 20-20 Champions League to be held in December.

Shoaib Malik, the Stallions' captain, was declared man of the match for his 2 wickets and unbeaten 19 at the end of the innings.

Salman Butt was declared the best batsman of the tournament - with 152 runs from 3 innings, he was the highest run scorer in the tournament.

Sohail Khan, who created domestic records with his bowling last season, got the best bowler award for his 6 wickets in 4 matches even though his Dolphins skipper, Shahid Afridi ended as the highest wicket taker in the tournament - 7 at an average of 11.28.

Afridi's Dolphins failed to win the title, ending as runners up for the 2nd time in a row and this win definitely puts Shoaib Malik ahead if him in the captaincy race.

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.

The RBS National 20-20 Cup continued yesterday with 5 more matches as Pakistan Vice Captain Misbah found himself in a situation we have seen him in many a time.

The Faisalabad Wolves, winners of the 2005 domestic 20-20 title and runners up of the 2006 one, took on the Karachi Dolphins, runners up of the 2007 competition, in what was highlighted as the main event of the 2nd day of the tournament.

The match truly lived up to its potential.

Shahid Afridi won the toss and elected to bat first. The Dolphins' openers Khalid Latif (22) and Khurram Manzoor (34), both who have played a few ODIs for Pakistan this year, set about at a good pace putting together an opening partnership of 58 runs.

The rest of the Dolphin batsmen did not continue the good work the openers had done as their innings folded for 155.

Only Afridi who smashed 28 off only 12 balls could provide some impetus to the innings.

Saeed Ajmal, who had impressed one and all during the Asia Cup this year, was the pick of the bowlers for the Wolves picking up 3 wickets to bring the Dolphins innings to a halt.

156 should have been a gettable target for the Wolves, particularly with the likes of Hafeez and Misbah in the ranks but brilliant bowling by Afridi, Sohail Khan, and Anwar Ali left the Wolves stranded 8 runs short as their innings closed on 147-5 with Misbah stranded at the crease.

Requiring 14 to win of the final over, Misbah lost the strike of the 3rd ball and Ahmed Hayat could not get any of the next 3 deliveries away as Sohail Khan gave away only 5 runs in the crucial 20th over of the innings.

Misbah remained not out on 48 off 31 deliveries that included 4 sixes, while Sohail Khan ended with figures of 2-20 off his 4 overs.

Earlier, Afridi had done an outstanding job with the ball conceding only 16 runs in his 4 overs and picking up 2 wickets.

With 2 wins out of 2, the Dolphins look set to advance to the semi finals.

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.

The PCB recently launched the Royal Bank of Scotland 20-20 Cup that will kick off on 4th October in Lahore.

Finally some cricket!

Who would have thought that the global financial crisis would affect cricket in Pakistan.

ABN Amro has sponsored domestic cricket in Pakisan for the last 3 years, however with its take over by RBS, all cricket in Pakistan will now be sponsored by them.

Royal Bank of Scotland sponsoring cricket in Pakistan. That sounds strange doesn't it?

The PCB definitely needs some new sponsors!

This is the 4th edition of the domestic 20-20 tournament in Pakistan and the winners of this event will be given a ticket to participate in the 20-20 Champions League in December where they will be pitted against the Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Victoria Bushrangers, Western Australia Warriors, Nashua Dolphins, Nashua Titans, and Middlesex.

The Sialkot Stallions, led by Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik, are the defending champions and will in fact be looking for a hatrick of titles in this years 20-20 tournament.

The Stallions, however, are significantly depleted this time around without the services of Mohammad Asif (doped out), Imran Nazir (ICL), and Rana Naveed (ICL).

Mansoor Amjad, Abdur Rehman, Kamran Younis, Sarfraz Ahmed (left arm quick), and Qaiser Abbas will provide good support to Malik, but without the top 3 players and no Shehzad Malik, the Stallions do not look like the same team that won the last two 20-20 cups.

Karachi Dolphins look like the strongest side in the competition. Led by Shahid Afridi the team includes Khurram Manzoor, Khalid Latif, Fawad Alam, Sarfraz Ahmed, Sohail Khan, Naumanullah, and Anwar Ali.

That is quite a formidable combination and Afridi would be looking to add another domestic title to his cap after the Pentangular Trophy earlier this year.

Karachi Zebras, led by Faisal Iqbal, are not as strong as the other Karachi side, with the only players with some international experience being Asim Kamal and Shadab Kabir.

The Zebras have also been hurt by the bans on ICL players with Hasan Raza and Mohammad Sami missing in action.

Faisalabad Wolves, captained by Misbah Ul Haq, under whom they won the first edition of the tournament and were the runners up of the 2nd have also been hit by the ICL bans.

They lose out on one of their most reliable batsmen in Naveed Latif and their attack bowler Shahid Nazir.

Despite that they still remain a relatively strong side with Mohammad Hafeez, Saeed Ajmal, and Samiullah Khan in the ranks along with one of the best 20-20 players in the world - their skipper Misbah.

Mohammad Yousuf, who has a point to prove despite saying he doesn't, will be captaining the Lahore Lions, which is another strong outfit with Salman Butt, Nasir Jamshed, Kamran Akmal, Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad, Wahab Riaz, and Junaid Zia in the line up.

They will be missing Abdul Razzak due to the ICL ban, but remain a strong team despite that.

The Lahore Eagles, on the other hand, have been hurt quite badly due to the ICL bans. Openers Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar along with keeper Humayun Farhat will be missing from action.

The Eagles don't have any international experience on their side and will be reliant on Azhar Ali, who was one of the leading scorers of the last domestic season.

Multan Tigers will be captained by Abdur Rauf, the pacer who has played a few ODIs. The only other international is Kamran Hussain, the allrounder who played a few ODIs against Zimbabwe earlier this year.

The Rawal Pindi Rams will be led by experienced domestic campaigner Naved Ashraf.

The Rams look stronger than they have in previous years particularly on the bowling front with their line up including the IPL Bowler of the tournament, Sohail Tanvir, along with Yasir Arafat, and the U19 left armer Mohammad Aamer who has been praised highly by Wasim Akram.

Islamabad Leopards have been boosted with the inclusion of Shoaib Akhtar after the usual PCB confusion over selection matters, however how many matches he will play is anybodys guess.

The Leopards' side also includes U19 skipper Imad Wasim and promising U19 stars Raheel Majeed and Afaq Rahim. Bazid Khan, who was one of the leading run scorers in the last domestic season adds to the Leaopards' strength.

The Peshawar Panthers have always been a strong side with a number of international players in their ranks, however they have never lived up to their expectations on the domestic circuit.

Umar Gul was announced to captain them, however with the indecisive Younis Khan confirming his availability the captaincy might land in his laps.

Along with these 2 the Panthers side also includes Yasir Hameed, Fazl-e-Akbar, Wajahatullah Wasti and leading domestic players Rafatullah Mohmand and Jannisar Khan.

The Abbottabad Rhinos, Quetta Bears, and Hyderabad Hawks are the relatively weaker sides in the competition with no international experience to boast of.

The 13 teams have been placed in 4 pools:

Group A: Wolves, Rhinos, Eagles, Dolphins ---> the fish will devour up the wild ones.
Group B: Zebras, Stallions, Hawks ---> what are the birds doing between the horses?
Group C: Leapards, Panthers, Tigers ---> all the cats in one!
Group D: Lions, Bears, Rams ---> poor rams left to be eaten.

The group games will be played between October 4th and 6th, with the winners of each group making it to the semi finals, to be played on the 7th. The final will be on 8th October.

The bans placed on the ICL players have depleted a number of teams in this tournament.

I think the absence of players like Razak, Imran Nazir, Taufeed Umar, Naveed Latif, Imran Farhat, Humayun Farhat, Riaz Afridi, Shahid Nazir, Mohammad Sami, Hasan Raza will take the shine off the tournament to some extent.

All these players are big names on the domestic circuit and have done exceptionally well at the 20-20 level in the past.

Without them the annual 20-20 tournament doesn't remain the star studded affair that it used to be.

On the bright side though, it does bring some cricket back to Pakistan.

The fans have always thronged to the stadiums during these 20-20 tournaments and I would expect the same this time round, particularly with all the internationals confirming their availability.

On top, the stakes are higher this time - the champions get to play the best 20-20 teams from the world in the inaugral 20-20 Champions League in December.

The action starts on the 4th - We'll keep you updated.