LAHORE: Southern Punjab (SP)’s Sohaib Maqsood suffered from illness after last night’s contest in National T20 Cup and is currently under strict vigilance, team’s manager Sajjad Akbar confirmed.
According to Akbar, Sohaib’s disease is unknown and doctors are reviewing his examining him.
“Sohaib fell ill last night but the reasons are unknown. Doctors are examining him and he will not play today’s contest,” he said.
It must be noted here that SP are playing against Central Punjab (CP) in the 21st match of the National T20 Cup. Remember, Sohaib is part of Pakistan’s squad for T20 World Cup.
Lahore: Southern Punjab stunned Northern in the 20th match of National T20 Cup by chasing down the 212-run target in the last over and registered their first two points of the competition.
Salman Ali Aghan and captain Aamer Yamin were the two main batters behind run-chase after SP’s poor bowling and fielding let them down.
The pair had come together with 82 required off the last eight overs when Aamer, the Southern Punjab captain, joined Salman after the dismissal of Azam Khan, who smoked three sixes and a four as he blasted 23 off just nine. Salman remained unbeaten on 68 off 40 balls while Yamin smacked 21-ball 41.
Meanwhile, other batters also made valuable contributions. Sohaib Maqsood (23), Tayyab Tahir (15), Khushdil Shah (24) also batted with a higher strike rate.
Earlier, Northern scaled to 211 with Haider Ali’s scintillating 72 not out off 40. The 21-year-old blasted seven fours and four sixes.
Their innings, however, was largely anchored by Haider, who knitted electrifying partnerships with Mohammad Nawaz, who brought his 38 runs at a strike rate of 152, and Imad Wasim, who spanked 40 at a staggering rate of 222.
With this win, SP have kept their semi-finals hope alive.
Lahore: Central Punjab has outclassed Sindh by eight wickets here at the Gaddafi Stadium and has moved to the top spot on the points table of the National T20 Cup.
Hasan Ali-led’s side chased down the 129-run target for the loss of two wickets. Hussain Talat and Shoaib Malik formed a 98* run stand for the third wicket after CP lost both openers.
Hussain scored 52-ball68 while Shoaib Malik made 40 off 25 balls. For Sindh, Mir Hamza was the lone wicket-taker of Kamran Akmal (1) while Ahmed Shahzad was run-out (20).
Earlier, Sarfaraz Ahmed played a fighting knock after his side had a disappointing start. Sindh’s captain remained unbeaten on 54 off 37 deliveries, powered by five fours and one six. Ahsan Ali was the other notable batter, scoring 23 while Danish Aziz and Anwar Ali scored 20 each.
Sindh were teetering at 32/4 after CP’s stand-in captain Hasan Ali decided to bowl first. Sarfaraz formed a 35-run partnership with Danish to give stability to the scoreboard while he and Anwar added 41 for the sixth wicket.
Sarfaraz reached to his 15th T20 fifty in the last over where he smacked 16 runs off Wahab Riaz.
For CP, Faheem Ashraf and Hasan took two wickets each while Wahab and Usman Qadir bagged one each.
Note, Babar Azam is not featuring in today’s match for Central Punjab due to personal commitments
Lahore: Four players of Balochistan have tested COVID-19 positive before their National T20 Cup match today at Gaddafi Stadium.
Imam-ul-Haq-led Balochistan were scheduled to face Northern later at 7.30 pm but now they might not play.The four Balochistan players have been placed in a 10-day quarantine
All other players were asymptomatic and tested negative, and will continue to participate in the tournament. All other participants and their families underwent testing on Tuesday and have returned negative.
The second match has been swapped with Northern taking on Southern Punjab. This means Northern and Balochistan match will now be played on 9 October under floodlights.
Balochistan-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa match on 7 October will be played as scheduled. Balochistan will beef up their squad with players from their Cricket Association Championship three-day tournament side. The player transfer will be from bubble-to-bubble but the replacement players will undergo CT-PCR testing as per the PCB Covid-19 Protocols
It must be noted that the tournament resumed today after a two-day break. Central Punjab is playing against Sindh in the first match.
Rawalpindi: Central Punjab fast bowler Hasan Ali has been fined for a level 1 offence for showing dissent during his side’s 3 October match against Southern Punjab at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
The fast bowler showed dissent in the 12th over of the Southern Punjab innings when his delivery was adjudged wide by the umpire. Hasan also had a prolonged discussion with umpire over the wide call.
Hasan was charged under article 2.8 of the PCB Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which reads as: “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during a match”.
On-field umpires Saqib Khan and Imtiaz Iqbal levelled the charge. Hasan accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Iftikhar Ahmed.
LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reduced ticket prices for the second phase of the National T20 Cup here at Gaddafi Stadium, starting tomorrow.
The prices have been reduced to PKR50 for all the enclosures while Fazal Mahmood and Imran Khan enclosures have been reserved for families only.
Tickets for all matches are available at www.bookme.pk. Fully vaccinated spectators above the age of 18 are allowed. They are required to bring original ID Cards and Immunisation Certificate for COVID-19. COVID-19 protocols will not be compromised at any cost.
Central Punjab will take on Sindh whereas Balochistan will play against Northern tomorrow at Gaddafi Stadium.
Sindh is leading the points table with eight points and a better run rate followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Central Punjab, Northern respectively with as many points as Sindh. Balochistan are placed fifth with four points whilst Southern Punjab are yet to get off the mark in the event.
Lahore: Pakistan’s veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has resumed training after fully recovering from dengue fever.
The 40-year-old Hafeez, who is part of the national T20 World Cup squad, was infected with the dengue virus last week. He was also infected with food poisoning at the start of the National T20 Cup in Rawalpindi.
On Monday, Hafeez did 25 percent of the training on the advice of doctors. He will intensify the duration of training in the next three days. He will play Lahore leg of the ongoing National T20 Cup on full recovery as his main goal is to be fully fit until the T20 World Cup.
It must be noted that Hafeez is part of the Central Punjab squad for the National T20 Cup.
RAWALPINDI: Babar Azam remained not out for 59 as Central Punjab (CP) chased down 120 runs with seven wickets in hand against Southern Punjab (SP) in the 18th match of the National T20 Cup.
Babar stood calm despite a couple of wickets on his other end and took his team to a comfortable chase in the end within 18 overs.
It was Hassan Ali who starred in the show with the bowl. He took four wickets to help CP bowl out SP for 119 in 18.4 overs. Faheem Ashraf followed him and bagged three wickets to do the rest of the damage. Usman Qadir and Wahab Riaz took a scalp each.
For SP, Salman Ali Agha made 40 runs off 29 balls laced with five boundaries whereas Azam Khan fought hard to score 45 off 41 including three boundaries and as many maximums.
In reply, CP lost the opener, Ahmed Shahzad, earlier but Kamran Akmal and Babar made a solid platform for them to chase the target easily. They both added 64 runs together with Kamran contributing 28 including three boundaries.
Hassan Khan and Naseem Shah managed to take a wicket each for SP.
Rawalpindi: Northern captain Shadab Khan has been reprimanded for a level 1 offence for showing dissent during his side’s 1 October match against Sindh at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
The leg-spinner displayed dissent in the ninth over when his delivery was adjudged wide by the umpire. He was charged under article 2.8 of the PCB Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which reads as: “showing dissent at an umpire’s decision during a match”.
On-field umpires Saqib Khan and Imtiaz Iqbal leveled the charge. Shadab accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Iftikhar Ahmed.
Rawalpindi: Central Punjab earned crucial two points in the National T20 Cup with a 12-run win over Sindh in the 16th match of the tournament played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
Heavy rain brought a halt with Sindh 110/6 (14.4 overs) in their 169-run chase. After the rain ended, a wet outfield forced the match to be abandoned.
Sindh started the chase positively with Sharjeel Khan (36) and Khurram Manzoor (14) scoring 48 runs at the top.
After Khurram’s dismissal to Sameen Gul, wickets continue to tumble. Young off-spinner Qasim Akram bowled an impressive spell in the middle overs, taking 3 wickets for 20 runs. Before the rain, Anwar Ali handed catch to Wahab Riaz off Sameen.
Earlier, experienced Shoaib Malik played a lone hand for Central Punjab, guiding them to 168/8 in 20 overs after they opted to bat first against Sindh.
Malik stroked unbeaten 85 off 47 balls, powered by eight fours and five sixes. The only other notable batter was Ahmed Shehzad, scoring run a ball 35. Hasan Ali entertained with two sixes but fall out on the very next ball.
Babar Azam didn’t trouble the opponent today as he was LBW by Mohammad Hasnain in the fourth over. For Sindh, Rumman Raees bagged four for 33 while Abrar Ahmed took three for 39.