Amad helps Balochistan set up final against Northern

Published October 24, 2019
FAISALABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Mohammad Rizwan is cleaned up during the first semi-final of the National T20 Cup against Northern at the Iqbal Stadium on Wednesday.—APP
FAISALABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Mohammad Rizwan is cleaned up during the first semi-final of the National T20 Cup against Northern at the Iqbal Stadium on Wednesday.—APP

KARACHI: On a day of dramatics, Amad Butt slammed a last-ball six to help Balochistan oust Southern Punjab by three wicket to qualify for the National T20 Cup final on Wednesday just hours after Haris Rauf grabbed a sensational last-over hat-trick as Northern edged past Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by three runs at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

While Northern will also vie for the Second XI crown at Karachi’s National Stadium, Southern Punjab were left heartbroken in the First XI clash as all-rounder Amad made light work of the required 18 runs from the last over by striking boundaries from two legitimate deliveries from seamer Umaid Asif, whose second ball was a wide. The third was hit straight back to the bowler before Amad bludgeoned Umaid over wide long-off for six.

The fifth ball saw Umar Gul sacrificing his wicket as Amad called him through for a non-existent second run. That left Balochistan needing two from one ball. But Amad was equal to the task as he swiveled around to pull over the square leg boundary to finish on 29 off 14 balls (three fours and two sixes) as Balochistan reached 178-7 after Southern Punjab had posted 173-5.

Earlier in the day, Haris engineered a sensational turnaround for Northern, who restricted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to 145-8 after totalling 148-9. Bowling the last over of what turned out to be an extraordinary first semi-final with Khyber Pakhtun­khwa needing eight runs, the strapping right-armer from Rawalpindi, grabbed a hat-trick.

Haris dismissed the well-set Iftikhar Ahmed with the first ball — caught by Asif Ali for a 45-ball 53 (six boundaries). The next delivery saw Zohaib Khan run off a wide before Haris removed Musadiq Ahmed (0) and Zohaib (5) off successive deliveries. After a dot ball, Mohammad Mohsin (1) was run out before Usman Khan Shinwari only managed a single from the last one.

Haris earned the man-of-the-match award ahead of Shinwari who had been the star performer in the first half with a magnificent spell that fetched the Pakistan left-armer five wickets — including three in the final over of the Northern innings — for only 13 runs.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa controlled the game brilliantly after their skipper Mohammad Rizwan opted to field first at the toss. His Northern counterpart Imad Wasim reckoned a total of 160 would have be sufficient given the state of the pitch.

Northern suffered early hiccups when young Ali Imran — hero of victory against Balochistan on Tuesday night — edged Shinwari behind to Rizwan for eight and Sohail Akhtar going first-ball while trying to smash Junaid Khan.

Umar Amin, who was the top-scorer with 43 from 33 balls (four fours and one six), and Rohail Nazir (run-a-ball 21, two sixes and one six) restored parity with a partnership of 50 before the teenaged wicket-keeper/batsman fell to part-timer Musadiq Ahmed.

It was then left to Asif to provide the finishing touches to the Northern innings with a 16-ball cameo of 28 that included two sixes and one four.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chase began on a disastrous note with the fourth-ball dismissal of Sahibzada Farhan for a duck. Rizwan then played onto Mohammad Amir for 13 before Fakhar Zaman (39 off 31 balls, four fours) and Iftikhar put on 65. After Imad nabbed Fakhar, Iftikhar and Khushdil Shah (22 off 17, three boundaries) added 44.

With victory well within their grasp, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa eventually lost the plot against the rampant Haris, who only played because the Australia-bound Pakistan fast bowler Musa Khan reported unfit.

Old guards Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik both rediscovered their form after Balochistan captain Haris Sohail asked Southern Punjab to bat first. Hafeez hit up a 41-ball 65 (nine fours and one six) while Malik contributed 64 from 40 balls (six fours and two sixes) with pair adding 72 for third wicket.

But Southern Punjab were unable to press on the accelerator when it mattered after the two veterans were back in the dugout.

Balochistan’s response was also scratchy. However Awais Zia (31 off 28, three fours and one six) and Imran Farhat (20 off 17, three boundaries) steadied the chase as the two left-handers shared a partnership of 55.

Haris and Hussain Talat — another pair of southpaws — then took over the responsibility of ensuring Balochistan stayed on course as they combined to add 52 before Haris left his stumps open for Wahab Riaz to hit them.

Hussain holed out to Malik on the fence off Wahab after scoring a vital 42 from 29 balls with the aid of seven boundaries to leave man-of-the-match Amad then take centre stage.

Wednesday’s results:

First XI — Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad:

Second semi-final:

Balochistan beat Southern Punjab by three wickets.

SOUTHERN PUNJAB 173-5 in 20 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 65, Shoaib Malik 64; Ali Shafiq 2-31); BALOCHISTAN 178-7 in 20 overs (Hussain Talat 42, Awais Zia 31, Amad Butt 29 not out, Haris Sohail 22, Imran Farhat 20; Wahab Riaz 2-36).

First semi-final: Northern beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by three runs.

NORTHERN 148-9 in 20 overs (Umar Amin 43, Asif Ali 28, Rohail Nazir 21; Usman Khan Shinwari 5-13, Imran Khan Jr 2-31); KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 145-8 in 20 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 53, Fakhar Zaman 39, Khushdil Shah 22; Haris Rauf 3-26, Sohail Tanvir 2-24).

Second XI — National Stadium, Karachi:

Second semi-final: Northern beat Sindh by three wickets.

SINDH 188-7 in 20 overs (Ammad Alam 81, Ramiz Aziz 49, Mohammad Waqas 20; Shehzad Azam Rana 3-31); NORTHERN 191-7 in 19.3 overs (Zeeshan Malik 58, Shehzad Azam Rana 32 not out, Nauman Ali 31, Jamal Anwar 27 not out, Sardar Hasan Raza 24; Hassaan Khan 3-29, Hasan Mohsin 2-35).

First semi-final: Southern Punjab beat Central Punjab by 13 runs.

SOUTHERN PUNJAB 184-5 in 20 overs (Zeeshan Ashraf 90, Zain Abbas 50, Mohammad Mohsin 21; Ehsan Adil 3-40, Asad Raza 2-45); CENTRAL PUNJAB 171-7 in 20 overs (Usman Salahuddin 61, Ali Waqas 33, Raza Ali Dar 29, Nauman Anwar 25; Zulfiqar Babar 3-34, Mohammad Imran 2-22).

Thursday’s fixtures:

First XI:

Final: Northern vs Balochistan (5:30pm).

Second XI:

Final: Southern Punjab vs Northern (1:30pm).

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2019

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