LAHORE: Bahawalpur Royals’ opener Tayyab Arif and Shawaiz Irfan shone in the run chase against Gwadar Sharks in the 12th match of the ongoing Pakistan Junior League (PJL) on Friday and powered their side to the playoffs.

Set to chase 120, the Royals comfortably sealed victory in the 15th over with eight wickets to spare.

Tayyab and Shahwaiz put on a match-defining 70-run partnership for the second wicket and put their side in command in pursuit of a modest total.

Tayyab, who was making his PJL debut, scored 41 off 33 balls including seven fours and perished while his side needed just two runs.

Shawaiz, however, remained unbeaten on 51 off 30 balls, laced with seven fours and two sixes.

For the Sharks, only Arafat Minhas could pick up a wicket.

Batting first, the Sharks’ batting lineup failed completely and could only amass 119/8 in their quota of 20 overs.

Haseeb Nazim put on a brief fight with his unbeaten knock of 26, while Danial Ibrahim could score 25. The rest of the Sharks’ batters failed to make an impact in the first innings.

Nangeyalia Kharote, Mohammad Zeeshan and Sajjad Ali bagged two wickets each for the Royals, while Tayyab made one scalp.

With their win over the Sharks, the Royals became the third side to book their place in the playoffs of PJL.

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