Tag: Northern vs KP

RAWALPINDI: Northern’s Ali Imran starred with a brilliant half-century as his side edged past Central Punjab by just three runs after a thrilling encounter in National T20 Cup on Sunday.

Set to chase a respectable total of 147, Central Punjab fell short of the target in a 16-over per side reduced match despite a magnificent second-wicket partnership of 83 runs between Tayyab Tahir and Abdullah Shafique.

Tayyab smashed a phenomenal 53 off 39 including six boundaries and six before he fell prey to Salman Irshad on a cumulative total of 104.

Central Punjab lost track of its chase after the dismissal, as they started to lose wickets in quick succession. Abdullah scored 33 off 23 before getting dismissed by Usman Shinwari meanwhile veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik managed to score 18 off 12.

For Northern, Irshad bagged two wickets, with Shinwari, Aamer Jamal and Mehran Muimtaz making a scalp each.

Earlier, Northern posted a competitive total of 146/7 following Ali Imran’s scintillating 56 off 34, laced with three boundaries and three sixes while Sohail Tanvir played late cameo of quick 20 off 8 balls.

Mohammad Ali remained the top-wicket taker for Central Punjab as he produced  3/33, while Aamir Yamin and Ali Asfand bagged two wickets each

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RAWALPINDI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) pacer Imran Khan Snr held his nerves calm to defend 15 runs against Northern in the final over to hand his side a second consecutive victory in the ongoing National T20 Cup 2022.

Set to defend 15 in the penultimate over, Imran had the worst possible start to his over as his first delivery went for a six. The right-arm pacer, however, did not lose the momentum and went on to halt the Northern batters to seal the victory as they fell two runs short of the glory.

Batting first, KP finished at a commendable 159/8 in the allotted 20 overs, thanks to the anchoring half-century from opening batter Sahibzada Farhan.

The right-handed opener top-scored for the side with a magnificent 53 off 45 deliveries, laced with two boundaries and three sixes. His opening partner Mohammad Haris also chipped in up the order with a brilliant 33 off 27.

All-rounder Mohammad Sarwar then scored an important 24 runs down the order and powered KP to finish at 159/8.

For Northern, Usman Shinwari and Slaman Irshad bagged three wickets each, while Aamer Jamal and Mehran Mumtaz struck out a batter each.

Set to chase 160, Northern fell a mere two runs short courtesy of a brilliant final over from Imran Snr and finished at 157/5 in 20 overs.

Opening batter Hassan Nawaz top-scored for the side with an important 38, while skipper Ali Imran scored an anchoring 31 off 27 deliveries, but that too, could not propel Northern to seal the victory.

For KP, Khalid Usman claimed two wickets for 16, while Kamran Ghulam, Arshad Iqbal, and Imran Snr made one scalp each.

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