HBL and NBP set up final clash

ESPNcricinfo staff

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Habib Bank Limited eased past Water and Power Development Authority at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore to seal their place in the tournament final. A collective bowling effort, four bowlers including Danish Kaneria, bagged two wickets each, while Imran Farhat and Taufeeq Umar, the openers, struck half-centuries to ensure a seven-wicket win. Sohaib Maqsood top-scored for WAPDA with 87 but was short of support from the other end; only one other batsman went past 20 as WAPDA were bowled out for 204. A 143-run opening stand between two players who've represented Pakistan shut out WAPDA from the game and HBL completed their win - their fourth in five games - with 34 balls to spare.

A lower-order revival led by Sarmad Bhatti and an all-round effort from Mohammad Talha handed National Bank of Pakistan a 32-run win over Pakistan International Airlines at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Bhatti rescued his team from a precarious situation at 79 for 5 and then 114 for 6, adding 70 with Talha followed by 64 with Uzair-ul-Haq to set the opponents a challenging target of 249. Bhatti top-scored for his team with 73, while Talha chipped in with a quickfire 49 that included three sixes. Uzair rattled PIA in their reply, picking up four wickets to reduce them to 95 for 6 at one stage. Shoaib Khan snr and Sarfraz Ahmed, though, helped the team recover with a 108-run stand but it proved unsustainable. Talha returned to bag two wickets as the innings closed on 216, sealing NBP's place in the final.