Half centuries from Kamran Ghulam and Waqar Ahmed led defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to a five-wicket win over Central Punjab in the opening round match of Pakistan Cup at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
In other two fixtures of the first round, Balochistan defeated Northern by two wickets, while Southern Punjab went down to Sindh by one wicket.
Central Punjab vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
After being put into bat, Central Punjab managed to score 215 for nine in their allotted 50 overs. Test opener top-scored with a 60-ball 37, hitting one four and two sixes.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mehran Mumtaz and captain Khalid Usman picked three wickets apiece.
In return, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa achieved the target in the 43rd over for the loss of five wickets. After the early departure of Sahibzada Farhan for nine, Waqar Ahmed was joined by Kamran Ghulam. The pair added 113 runs for the second wicket. Waqar top-scored with a 73-ball 68, which included 10 fours and one six. Kamran scored 56 off 62 balls, striking five fours and two sixes.
Mehran returned unbeaten on 29 off 43 balls, while Adil Amin contributed 28 off 29 balls, hitting two fours and a six.
For Central Punjab, leg-spinner Usman Qadir bagged two wickets for 60.
Sindh v Southern Punjab
At the Multan Cricket Stadium, in a close contest, Sindh defeated Southern Punjab by one wicket on DLS method. After being put into bat, Southern Punjab were bowled out for 159 in the 42nd over. Aamer Yamin top-scored with an unbeaten run-a-ball 35, which included three fours and one six.
Captain Salman Ali Agha was other notable run-getter with a 46-ball 30. His counterpart left-arm fast Mir Hamza was pick of the bowlers with match figures of four for 25 in 10 overs. He was equally supported by Abrar Ahmed and Muhammad Umar – both sharing five wickets between them.
In return, Sindh were 104 for nine in 23 overs when rain stopped play and later due to no further play Sindh on DLS won the match by one wicket. Left-handed Danish Aziz returned undefeated on 32 off 35, smashing three fours and one six.
Southern Punjab’s Mohammad Abbas Afridi and Rahat Ali took three and two wickets, respectively.
Balochistan v Northern
At the House of N0rthern in Islamabad, Northern’s Umar Amin century went in vain as Balochistan achieved the 276-run target in the last over of the match for the loss of eight wickets.
Chasing 276 for win, Wicketkeeper-batter Bismillah Khan struck five fours and as many sixes in his 58-ball 84 runs innings. Bismillah was equally supported by Haseebullah (40 off 59, four fours, one six), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (39 off 40, five fours, one six) and Amad Butt (31 off 39, one four, one six).
For Northern, left-arm spinner Imad Wasim grabbed three wickets for 58.
Earlier, after being put into bat, Northern scored 275 for eight in 50 overs. Opening batter Umar scored a 124-ball 116, hitting 10 fours and four sixes. Mubasir Khan coming to bat at number seven scored a quick-fire 43 off 32. The right-handed batter struck four fours and two sixes.
For Balochistan, left-arm pacer Akif Javed picked five wickets for 60 runs in his 10 overs.
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