KARACHI: Sindh held their nerves to clinch an exciting eight-run victory over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in an error-strewn First XI fixture of the National T20 Cup at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Wednesday.

In the evening game, Balochistan stunned the star-studded Central Punjab by 27 runs to join Sindh as the only sides with two victories from three matches.

Faced with a relatively achievable target of 177, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were restricted to 168-6 — despite a brilliant 43-ball 70 from their skipper Mohammad Rizwan — with former international Anwar Ali spearheading Sindh’s resurgence.

Fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain spoilt Fakhar Zaman’s 100th T20 appearance by having his Pakistan team-mate caught by Anwar in the deep for 15 before a searing delivery breached through the defences of Mohammad Mohsin for a golden duck.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa made a partial recovery as Rizwan, who struck six boundaries and a brace of sixes, and Iftikhar Ahmed (20 off 17 balls) added 52 for the fourth wicket but slow left-armer Mirza Ahsan Jamil had Iftikhar caught by Abid Ali with the total on 100.

Anwar, who had earlier sent back Israrullah (28 off 20 balls, six fours), proved decisive at the death when he removed Adil Amin (15) and Rizwan to finish with 3-30 in three overs. Hasnain returned figures of 2-29 from four overs.

Fielding lapses, notably from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who dropped as many as five catches, highlighted this first match of day four. Cashing in on the opportunities provided to them, Sindh made a strong start after Rizwan chose to bowl first upon winning the toss.

Ahsan Ali and Khurram Manzoor, opening the innings in a tinkered batting-order, put on 83 in 10 overs. Khurram looked set for a big score but once again was guilty of throwing his wicket after scoring 35 off 32 balls (five boundaries).

Ahsan, who was adjudged man-of-the-match, struck meaty blows on both sides as the right-hander bludgeoned 64 off only 37 balls while striking eight fours and three sixes.

Sarfraz Ahmed, the embattled Pakistan captain, scored just three when a wild heave against Usman Khan Shinwari brought about his downfall; Anwar was run out for 18, skipper Asad Shafiq fell to Junaid Khan for 10.

Sohail Khan (13 off eight balls) helped Sindh cross the 170-run mark with two boundaries in the final over.

Bismillah Khan was Balochistan’s star with the bat with a belligerent 51 from 23 balls after Babar Azam decided that fielding would be the best option for Central Punjab when he won the toss.

But Babar rued his decision as Bismillah clobbered seven fours and three sixes while outscoring Awais Zia in their second-wicket partnership of 61 in only 31 deliveries to help Balochistan eventually reach a competitive tally of 164-8 on a slow pitch where the ball at times stayed low.

Awais, who was named man-of-the-match for being the top-scorer with 56 from 43 balls (four fours and two sixes), kept his end intact until he was seventh out at 163, becoming Faheem Ashraf’s third victim after the Pakistan paceman had dismissed Hussain Talat and Amad Butt off consecutive balls.

Central Punjab made a flying start as Ahmed Shehzad and Babar put on 59 before the skipper was well caught by Mohammad Asghar off Yasir Shah on the final ball of powerplay for 30 (20 balls, three fours and one six).

Yasir then got rid of Kamran Akmal (2) and young left-arm paceman Akif Javed had Umar Akmal (3) offering a simple catch to Amad at fine leg. Amad added to Central Punjab’s woes by dismissing Rizwan (7), Shehzad — who followed up his unbeaten 111 against Northern on Tuesday with a 41-ball 52 (five fours and one six) — and Faheem in an incisive spell to put Balochistan in full control.

Amad ended up excellent analysis of 3-23 and together with Yasir, who bagged 2-19, bowled superbly in their combined total of eight overs.

Wednesday’s results:

First XI — Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad:

Balochistan beat Central Punjab by 27 runs.

BALOCHISTAN 164-8 in 20 overs (Awais Zia 56, Bismillah Khan 51; Faheem Ashraf 3-33); CENTRAL PUNJAB 137-8 in 20 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 52, Babar Azam 30; Amad Butt 3-23, Yasir Shah 2-19, Umar Gul 2-33).

Sindh beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by eight runs.

SINDH 176-6 in 20 overs (Ahsan Ali 64, Khurram Manzoor 35, Saad Ali 20); KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 168-6 in 20 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 70, Israrullah 28, Iftikhar Ahmed 20; Anwar Ali 3-30, Mohammad Hasnain 2-29).

Second XI — National Stadium, Karachi:

Central Punjab beat Balochistan by 57 runs.

CENTRAL PUNJAB 198-6 in 20 overs (Mohammad Saad 66, Nauman Anwar 62, Zahid Mansoor 39 not out; Akbar-ur-Rehman 3-31, Khurram Shehzad 2-32); BALOCHISTAN 141-8 in 20 overs (Ibtisam Sheikh 46 not out, Gulraiz Sadaf 23; Raza Ali Dar 3-23, Zahid Mansoor 2-18).

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Sindh by six wickets.

SINDH 169-6 in 20 overs (Mohammad Waqas 36, Ramiz Aziz 34, Danish Aziz 26 not out, Hassaan Khan 24 not out, Rameez Raja Jr 20; Sajid Khan 2-28); KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 171-4 in 17.2 overs (Gohar Ali 49, Nabi Gul 44, Asif Afridi 28; Ghulam Mudassar 3-31).

Thursday’s fixtures:

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

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

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2019