Shahid Afridi led the Karachi Dolphins to their third straight win as they beat Abbottabad Rhinos by six wickets.

In a low-scoring affair in Lahore on Monday, th Rhinos could only make 96 for nine as medium pacer Farhaz Ahmed (3 for 15) and offie Tahir Khan (2 for 14) ran through their batting.

The Dolphins were rocked back early in to the chase but an unbeaten 33 by Asfar Nawaz and a cameo knock of 26 by Afridi led them to victory in the 17th over. The Karachi Dolphins with this win lead Group A.

In another encounter, Shoaib Malik and Kamran Younis hit brisk half-centuries to seal an eight-wicket Hyderabad Hawk win over the Sialkot Stallions.

Chasing 144, Hyderabad lost two early wickets but Malik and Younis sealed the win with five balls to spare. Younis made an unbeaten 65, while Malik hit 61. The duo put on 113 runs for the third wicket.

Earlier, the Stallions - riding on a fine 57 by Rizwan Ahmed and 36 from Taj Wasan - managed to post 143. With two wins an one loss, the Sialkot Stallions lead Group B.

Emulating the Karachi Dolphins, Faisalabad Wolves also beat the Lahore Eagles by six wickets.

Five of six Faisalabad bowlers used took wickets to keep Lahore to a poor 106 before wicketkeeper Mohammad Salman (41 from 42 balls) and Khurram Shehzad (32 from 22) steered the successful chase.

The Islamabad Leopards too won by six wickets, handing the Multan Tigers another defeat. Contributions from Sohaib Maqsood (41), Saeed Anwar jnr (34) and Bilal Khilji (26) took Multan to 141 for 8.

However, it was not enough, as Umair Khan (37) and Bazid Khan (25) rallied the top order before a destructive 42 from just 18 balls by captain Ashar Zaidi completed the denouement in 17.2 overs.

The eight-team Pakistan National Twenty20 tournament is being played in Lahore from October 4 to 8 and the winner will feature in the Champions Twenty20 League to be played in India from December 3 to 10.