Yusuf gives Stallions momentum

A 25-ball 39 by Shahid Yusuf helped the Sialkot Stallions to a fighting 130 for 9 against Auckland Aces in a Pool 1 qualifying match of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on today.

A 25-ball 39 by middle-order batsman Shahid Yusuf helped the Sialkot Stallions to a fighting 130 for 9 against Auckland Aces in a Pool 1 qualifying match of the Champions League Twenty20 tournament at the New Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

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Earlier, Yorkshire beat Uva Next by five wickets in the opening qualifying match.

Electing to bat, the Stallions lost opener Shakeel Ansar for 1. Ansar's nervy stay in the middle ended in the second over when he tried to pull a shortish ball from Michael Bates, only to top-edge it towards mid-on for an easy catch.

Imran Nazir and Haris Sohail tried to get the team back on track, scoring 17 and 12 respectively before skipper Shoaib Malik added a sluggish 19 and Shahid Yusuf slammed a 39.