KARACHI, Nov 30: The semi-final line-up in the NBP Junior Hockey Cup is now complete after culmination of the Under-21 tournament’s pool matches.

National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) and Habib Bank Limited (HBL), who had already reserved berths in the top four will now be facing Karachi Electric Supply Corporation (KESC) and Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), respectively, in the fight to reach the final to be played at the Hockey Club of Pakistan (HCP) on Friday.

Meanwhile, Sunday’s four matches saw Punjab beating Sindh 4-2, Balochistan holding Karachi to a 3-3 draw, PIA beating NBP 4-2 and KESC beating HBL 3-2.The first match between Punjab and Sindh saw the losing side scoring first through their left-in Qamar Waheed in the 14th minute. Punjab’s right-out Irfan Saeed equalised in the 30th minute to make the score 1-1 at half-time.

The 49th minute saw Irfan getting Punjab ahead and the 61st and 69th minutes saw Punjab’s captain and right-in Farhan Ali scoring twice to consolidate the lead. Sindh scored their second goal just 20 seconds before the final whistle. In the drawn Balochistan-Karachi encounter, Karachi’s left-out Waseem Ahmed scored three goals (46th, 59th and 66th mins).

Balochistan’s goals were scored by right in Mohammad Kashif (33rd min) and centre-forward Fahad Khan (59th and 69th mins). The match could have been won by Karachi had it not been for Balochistan’s goalkeeper Mushtaq Khan, who made many brilliant saves.

The third match, which PIA won by beating NBP 4-2, also saw them become group champions, with seven points.

NBP went through bad luck when left-in Rizwan Khan missed three good chances including a penalty corner. Then fullback Mohammad Atiq too was shown the yellow card by umpire Mohsin Ali Khan in the 62nd minute.

PIA’s fullback Kashif Ali scored on a penalty stroke in the 15th minute. Kashif also converted a penalty corner in the 20th minute followed by NBP also scoring through a stroke through fullback Mohammad Atiq in the 21st minute. The airline’s right-out Inayatullah scored in the 31st minute to make the score 3-1 at halftime.

PIA were first to score in the second half too with left-in Imran Malik getting them their fourth through a field goal in the 51st minute.

The next minute saw another field goal, this time for NBP, by Mohammad Imran.

The day’s last match, played under floodlights saw KESC pulling off an upset by beating HBL 3-2. KESC’s right-out Manzoor Ahmed scored in the 13th minute but HBL restored parity in the 27th minute through centre-forward Azlan Khan.

The 39th minute saw KESC getting ahead again through left-out Mohammad Irfan. And HBL equalized again though Nasir Hussain in the 59th minute. The teams were heading towards a draw when Mohammad Irfan broke the tie again for KESC in the 68th minute.

First semi-final: NBP v KESC at 6.30pm on Tuesday.

Second semi-final: PIA v HBL at 6.30pm on Wednesday.

Both matches will be played at the HCP.