CL T20: Otago Volts restrict Faisalabad Wolves to 139 for eight

Otago Volts put up impressive bowling performance to restrict Faisalabad Wolves to a modest 139 for eight in their first qualifying match of the Champions League Twenty20 here today.

Pacers Ian Butler (2 for 23), James McMillan (2 for 24), and James Neesham (2 for 26) chipped in with two wickets each for the New Zealand outfit.

Electing to bat, Faisalabad Wolves lost early wickets to find themselves in a spot of bother at 45 for three at the half-way stage before valuable contributions from skipper Misbah-ul-Haq (46) and Khurram Shehzad (27) steadied their innings

Even though the duo stitched a solid 61-run stand off 46 balls for the fourth wicket, the Wolves still failed to post a competitive total on the board.

McMillan struck in his first two overs, dismissing both the openers -- Ammar Mahmood (5) and Ali Waqas (4) -- cheaply.

Mahmood, who hit a boundary of the very first ball of the match, was dismissed in the second over when he gave a simple catch to Hamish Rutherford at point. Waqas was the next to depart in McMillan's very next over.

Although Asif Ali (14, 12b, 3X4s) tried to consolidate Wolves' position in Khurram Shehzad's company, but his stay in the middle was cut short by Neesham.

But Shehzad and Misbah showed a lot of character and managed to do the damage control. Both the batsmen adopted a cautious approach, punishing only loose deliveries as they struggled to accelerate the run-rate.

But having settled down a bit, Pakistan national team captain Misbah started firing on all cylinders, smashing as many as three sixes.

In a Nathan McCullum over, Misbah hit a huge six over mid wicket boundary and then followed it with a boundary and another maximum to pick 18 runs.

But just as things started to look up for the Pakistani outfit, Ian Butler sent back Shehzad for a 36-ball 27.

Butler struck once again in his next over to claim the wicket of dangerman Misbah. Misbah's knock came off 34 balls with the help of four boundaries and three sixes.

Imran Khalid (12) and Mohammad Salman (10) tried hard, but failed to up the ante in the death overs.