KARACHI: Crucial knocks by Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir and Yasir Khan led their respective teams to victories in the ongoing National T20 Cup on Saturday.

Iftikhar-led Peshawar registered their second consecutive triumph of the tournament as they beat Karachi Whites by 56 runs at the UBL Sports Complex.

Asked to bat first, Peshawar were reeling at 43-3 when skipper Iftikhar (72 not out off 45, nine fours and two sixes) and Adil Amin (75 not out off 44, six fours and four sixes) combined to for 143 taking Peshawar to a total of 186.

Iftikhar was as lethal with the ball, claiming three victims as Karachi were bowled out for 130. They would have lost by a bigger margin had it not been for Ammad Alam and Omair Bin Yousuf, who put on a 56-run partnership put on a partnership.

At the NBP Sports Complex, Tayyab rescued Lahore Whites after early jitters to ens­ure a five-wicket win over Lahore Blues.

In pursuit of a 149-run target, the Whites had lost two early wickets but debutant opener Imran Dogar (45 off 29, five fours and two sixes) and Tayyab (67 not out off 54, five fours and a six) took the team all the way across the finish line.

Earlier, Lahore Blues managed to post a total of 148 in the allotted 20 overs after Lahore Whites won the toss and elected to bowl first.

After a decent start to their innings, Lahore Blues lost wickets at regular intervals. Wicketkeeper batter Junaid Ali coming in to bat at number six, played a vital knock of 34 runs with the help of six boundaries.

Rawalpindi made it two wins out of two games in the Super Eight stage as they thrashed Fata by seven wickets at the National Bank Stadium. Rawalpindi made no fuss in chasing Fata’s total of 168 courtesy of a brilliant hundred by the opener Yasir.

Fata lost their openers in batting powerplay as they were put in to bat by Rawalpindi’s captain Shadab Khan.

Barring Salman Khan Jr’s 83 off 52 (eight fours and three sixes), no other Fata batter managed to convert their starts. Towards the end of innings Asif Afridi chipped in with a unbeaten cameo of 16 from nine balls, including a six and a four, to help FATA post a respectable total.

Rawalpindi’s Zaman Khan impressed with three wickets including a hat-trick chance.

Rawalpindi lost Zeeshan Malik early in the chase but aggressive batting by Yasir (107 off 59b, eight fours and as many sixes) combined with Umar Amin’s 48 off 38b (four fours and a six)efforts with the bat allowed a massive partnership of 154 runs.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2023