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FAISALABAD: Lahore Blues, Karachi Whites, Abbottabad and Faisalabad bagged victories in their respective National T20 Cup matches held in Faisalabad and Multan on Sunday night.
In the Group ‘B’ match in Faisalabad, Lahore Blues got over the line against Bahawalpur as they chased the meagre 98-run target in just 9.4 overs.
Imran Butt top scored with 48 not out off 32 balls hitting eight fours and also partnered with Umar Siddiq (41 off 16, three fours and four sixes) for a fiery 72-run opening stand.
Earlier, player of the match Qasim Akram and pacer Mohammad Salman Mirza returned combined figures of 6-24 to bamboozle the Bahawalpur batters. Qasim gave away just six runs in his four overs taking three scalps, while Salman took his three wickets for 18 runs in 3.2 overs.
In the other fixture of the group, Karachi Whites beat Dera Mura Jamali by six wickets to register their second win in the tournament as Saqib Khan spearheaded the Whites’ bowling effort with figures of 3-23 in four overs as they restricted DM Jamali to 132-7 in the allotted 20 overs.
In turn, Karachi Whites scaled the target in 17.3 overs. Khurram Manzoor top scored with 42 off 32 balls with the help of seven fours and one six, while Shan Masood struck four sixes and two fours in his breezy 19-ball 38.
Debutant Haroon Arshad remained unbeaten for 21, hitting two boundaries.
Meanwhile in Multan, Abbottabad made light work of Rawalpindi, winning the Group ‘C’ game by seven wickets and 41 balls to spare. Abbottabad’s pace duo of Arshad Iqbal (3-12) and Shahab Khan (3-21) struck regularly to restrict Rawalpindi to 104 in 18,3 overs.
In turn, Abbottabad’s Kamran Ghulam safely guided his team home with an unbeaten 27-ball 37 inclusive of three fours and one six.
The other match in Multan saw Faisalabad romp to a 62-run victory over Hyderabad as they successfully defended their total of 199-4. After Faisalabad were asked to bat first, opening batter Mohammad Faizan set the tone for a high score hitting seven fours and three sixes in his 36-ball 57.
Skipper Asif Ali, who walked in to bat at 109-3, tonked five sixes and three fours notch unbeaten 60 off just 24 balls.
He also partnered with Raees Ahmed (20 not out off 10, three fours) for an unbeaten 67-run stand for fifth wicket.
In reply, Hyderabad could only manage 137-8 in 20 overs as Ibtisam Rehman (2-17), Muhammad Awais Zafar (2-22) and Shehzad Gul (2-29) shared six wickets among them.
Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2025
