FAISALABAD: In the ninth-round match of the ongoing Pakistan Cup, Balochistan sealed a thrilling victory in a high-scoring match over Northern to secure the top spot in the points table.
Batting first, Balochistan posted a commendable 302/5 in the allotted 50 overs, thanks to the fifties from Haseebullah, Imran Butt, and Asad Shafiq.
The opening pair of Imran and Haseebullah provided a solid start to the side with a magnificent 107-runs partnership. Both the batters scored half-centuries and laid the foundation for a decent total.
Imran scored 54 off 62 balls with the help of seven boundaries, while Haseebullah perished after scoring 58. He faced 70 deliveries and hit eight boundaries.
Following their departure, Balochistan’s most experienced batter Asad took the charge and played a sensible knock of 89 runs. The right-handed batter faced a mere 66 balls and smashed a dozen boundaries.
The rest of the Balochistan batters also made small contributions to bolster their side to 302/5 in 50 overs.
For Northern, Aaqib Liaquat, Aamir Jamal, Ali Imran, Athar Mehmood, and Mehran Mumtaz made one scalp each.
Set to chase 303, Northern fell seven runs short despite the fifties from Rohail Nazir, Ali Imran, and Umar Amin as they could only manage to score 295/6 in the allotted 50 overs.
Ali and Umar scored 50 and 52 respectively, while the wicket-keeper batter Rohail top-scored for the side with 82 off 87 balls. The batters, however, remained a touch slow as they conceded a lot of deliveries.
For Balochistan, the skipper Yasir Shah led the way with three wickets, while Khurram Shahzad bagged two. Taj Wali, on the other hand, struck out a batter.
In another ninth-round match, Southern Punjab (SP) stunned the then table-toppers Sindh as they outclassed the latter by 46 runs.
Batting first, SP managed to post a decent total of 314/6 in the allotted 50 overs. The late onslaught from Hassan Khan and Muhammad Imran saw their side get to 168/6 to 314/6 as the pair put on an unbeaten 146-runs partnership for the seventh wicket.
Hassan scored 66, while Imran top-scored with 71. Both the batters faced 48 balls each during their magnificent seventh-wicket stand.
For Sindh, Sohail Khan took three wickets, while Abrar Ahmed, Danish Aziz, and Mohammad Asghar picked one wicket apiece.
Set to chase 315, Sindh’s batting line-up failed as they bowled out for 268 in the 49th over.
The right-handed opener Saim Ayub showed resilience with his gritty knock of 82, while the rest of the batters failed to contribute significantly in the run chase.
For SP, Zia-ul-Haq claimed three wickets, while the skipper Salman Ali Agha followed back with two. Rahat Ali, Hassan, Ali Majid, and Sharoon Siraj, on the other hand, made one scalp each.
In the 27th match of the ongoing Pakistan Cup, Central Punjab (CP) edged past Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) by 15 runs.
Batting first, CP were off to a poor start as the side lost their first four wickets for a mere 63. Rizwan Hussain, however, stood firm and kept the scoreboard ticking single-handedly.
The left-hander batted sensibly and scored a terrific century. He scored 104 off 120 balls with the help of 10 boundaries including three sixes.
Lower-order batters Qasim Akram and Saad Nasim then also chipped in with 38 and 48 respectively to further bolster their side to a decent total.
For KPK, Mohammad Imran shone with four wickets, while Imran Khan Snr claimed two. Mohammad Sarwar Afridi, Khalid Usman, and Arshad Iqbal managed to make one scalp each.
In the run chase, CP bowlers displayed combined bowling effort and dismissed KPK for 253 in 50 overs.
Young all-rounder Qasim led the bowling chart with three wickets, while Zafar Gohar, Hussain Talat, and Mohammad Faizan followed with two each. Raza Ali Dar, on the other hand, struck out a batter.
For KPK, Sarwar top-scored with his 42, while Adil Amin and Mehran Ibrahim also chipped in with 32 each. The rest of the batters’ failure, however, prevented the side from securing the victory.
