KARACHI: Upcoming all-rounder Mohammad Mohsin strangulated Balochistan to defeat with a four-wicket haul for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa after the First XI competition of the National T20 Cup got underway with a delayed start at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Sunday.

While there was no official word on the exact nature of this inordinate episode, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) media release just stated: ‘The Sunday’s National T20 Cup matches have been delayed by two hours due to technical reasons….with the first ball of the opening fixture to be bowled at 3:30pm.”

Whatever the hitch behind the rescheduling, it made little impression on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who eased to an seven-wicket drubbing of Balochistan after Mohammad Rizwan opted to bowl first at the toss.

The Balochistan batsmen caved in meekly after Imam-ul-Haq and fellow left-hander Awais Zia had began well with a first-wicket partnership of 65. However, Mohsin starred in the middle overs as his off-spinners not only stemmed the flow of runs but also picked up wickets after Iftikhar Ahmed had sent back Awais (31 off 27 balls, three fours and two sixes).

Mohsin started with two quick strikes in one over with the left-handed duo of Balochistan captain Haris Sohail and Hussain Talat both going for second-ball ducks.

Mohsin’s third victim was also a left-hander — Imran Farhat, who was trapped LBW for a 14-ball 16, which was only other double-figure score apart from the openers. Imam, whose wicket was the eighth one wicket fall, was eventually dismissed by left-arm speedster Usman Khan Shinwari for 70 with his 51-ball innings featuring four sixes and three fours.

Mohsin, was later declared man-of-the-match, finished with career-best 4-17 from his four overs. Balochistan finally got to 140-9 with Shinwari picking up 2-14 after coming on to bowl first change while the new ball was shared by off-spin pair of Iftikhar and Adil Amin.

Fakhar Zaman then set Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on their way as the left-hander scored 45 off 36 balls with six fours and a six before falling to Test spinner Yasir Shah with the total on 58. His opening partner Sahibzada Farhan made 14 but Haris then had him caught by Mohammad Asghar.

Adil, who bowled tidily (0-29 in four overs), excelled with the bat as the right-hander dominated the third-wicket stand of 74 with Rizwan by striking a rapid 46 from only 21 balls with the aid of six boundaries and a brace of sixes.

Rizwan remained unbeaten on a 27-ball 31 (one six and one four) as the skipper finished the match with a single off occasional spinner Imran Farhat as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa romped home with as many as 17 balls to spare.

At the time of filing this report, the Sindh were playing Central Punjab in day one’s second fixture, which was originally slated to start at 5:30pm before it was rescheduled.

Meanwhile, the Second XI tournament at the National Stadium in Karachi began with a sensational tie between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with both teams scoring 178. However, Balochistan prevailed in the Super Over after curtailing their opponents to just six runs.

In the day’s other fixture. Sindh rode on a century opening stand — 103 in 11 overs — between Ammad Alam (69) and Jaahid Ali (70 not out) to overpower Central Punjab by nine wickets with 15 deliveries to spare.

Results on Sunday:

First XI — Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad:

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Balochistan by seven wickets.

Balochistan 140-9 in 20 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 70, Awais Zia 31; Mohammad Mohsin 4-17, Usman Khan Shinwari 2-14); Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 141-3 in 17.1 overs (Adil Amin 46, Fakhar Zaman 45, Mohammad Rizwan 31 not out;

Second XI — National Stadium, Karachi:

Sindh beat Central Punjab by nine wickets.

CENTRAL PUNJAB 166-3 in 20 overs (Mohammad Akhlaq 47, Usman Salahuddin 41, Nauman Anwar 31, Ali Waqas 25 not out); SINDH 170-1 in 17.3 overs (Jaahid Ali 70 not out, Ammad Alam 69, Rameez Raja Jr 21 not out).

Balochistan vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, match tied (Balochistan win one-over eliminator).

BALOCHISTAN 178-2 in 20 overs (Gulraiz Sadaf 75, Akbar-ur-Rehan 70 not out; Sameen Gul 2-29); KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 178-6 in 20 overs (Aitzaz Habib Khan 70, Mehran Ibrahim 39, Nabi Gul 38; Taj Wali 2-34, Ibtisam Sheikh 2-37).

Tuesday’s fixtures:

First XI: Northern vs Southern Punjab (1:30pm); Sindh vs Balochistan (5:30pm).

Second XI: Northern vs Southern Punjab (9:30am); Sindh vs Balochistan (1:30pm).

Published in Dawn, October 14th, 2019