MULTAN: Sahibzada Farhan smashed 102 off 64 balls to seal a 38-run win for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over Balochistan in the National T20 Cup at the Multan Cricket Stadium here on Saturday; the victory confirming a semi-final berth for his side.

After being put into bat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa openers Farhan and Rehan Afridi provided a solid 71-run start.

Wicketkeeper-batter Rehan was the first one to return to the pavilion after scoring 34 from 25 balls, which included six boundaries.

Farhan was joined by Kamran Ghulam (26) and the pair knitted a 64-run partnership for the second wicket. Farhan continued to play shots at will and brought up his century from 61 balls which included seven fours and six towering sixes.

After the dismissal of right-handed Farhan in the 19th over, the defending champions managed to add only seven in the final over to end up scoring 175-3 in their allotted 20 overs. The experienced Junaid Khan was Balochistan’s pick of the bowlers with two for 34.

In their chase, Balochistan lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out for 137 in the 17th over.

Haris Sohail coming to bat at number five top-scored with a 30-ball 47, studded with five fours and two sixes.

For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, skipper Khalid Usman and right-arm leg-spinner Maaz Khan bagged three wickets apiece. Mohammad Abbas Afridi picked up two wickets.

The result ensured Khyber Pakht­unkhwa topped the six-team table with 12 points from 10 matches.

They could have secured their place in the last-four on Friday night had they won against Southern Punjab with Sohaib Maqsood’s half-century extending their wait by another day.

Sohaib’s 61 helped Southern Punjab beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by six wickets as the right hander belted seven fours and three sixes in his 44-ball knock.

A 68-run partnership for the third wicket between Sohaib and captain Salman Ali Agha (33) helped Southern Punjab reach their 134-run target with 29 balls to spare.

After opting to bat first, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lost wickets at regular intervals and were bowled out on the final delivery of the 20th over.

Kamran Ghulam — who top-scored for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with a 40-ball 54 — struck one four and four sixes. He added 52 runs for the seventh wicket with skipper Khalid Usman (16).

For Southern Punjab, Hassan Khan was the most successful bowler with match figures of 3-21. He was equally supported by right-arm fast Mohammad Ilyas who bagged two wickets for 39 runs.

Brief scores:

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Balochistan by 38 runs.

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: 175-3 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 102, Rehan Afridi 34, Kamran Ghulam 26; Junaid Khan 2-34); BALOCHISTAN: 137 all out in 17 overs (Haris Sohail 47; Khalid Usman 3-19, Maaz Khan 3-39).

Southern Punjab beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by six wickets.

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: 133 all out in 20 overs (Kamran Ghulam 54; Hassan Khan 3-21, Mohammad Ilyas 2-39); SOUTHERN PUNJAB: 136-4 in 15.1 overs (Sohaib Maqsood 61 not out, Salman Ali Agha 33, Umar Siddiq 26).

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2022