Defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa produced a dominant performance on the back of a century from Kamran Ghulam to defeat Central Punjab by six wickets in the first semi-final of the Pakistan Cup at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Monday.
Chasing 286 to win, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lost their opening batter Mohammad Mohsin Khan (two off four) on the score of 22. Ashfaq Ahmed was joined by Kamran. The pair played shots with ease and added 130-run partnership for the second wicket before Ashfaq was caught by Mohammad Faizan of Qasim Akram’s bowling. The right-handed Ashfaq scored 71 off 86 balls, hitting six fours.
The 2020 Domestic Player of the Year Kamran continued to play shots at will and brought up his second century of the tournament in the 38th over of the innings. The right-handed batter top-scored with 109 off 120, smashing 10 fours and three sixes. Kamran was adjudicated player-of-the-match for his match winning knock and added 92 runs for the third wicket with Adil Amin (60 off 58, three fours, one six).
Mohammad Sarwar Afridi returned undefeated on 26 off 25 and struck two fours which included the winning shot on the last ball of the penultimate over.
Earlier, after opting to bat first, Central Punjab managed to score 286 for nine in 50 overs. Qasim Akram batting at number six top-scored with a 63-ball 67, which included 10 fours. Hussain Talat (63, 71b, five fours, one six), Saad Nasim (46 not out, 42b, three fours, one six) and Ahmed Shehzad (35, 47b, four fours) were other contributors with the bat.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Imran and Sajid Khan bagged three wickets apiece. Imran Khan Snr grabbed two wickets for 30 from seven overs.
In the second semi-final on 30 March at the same venue, Balochistan will take on Sindh. The first ball will be bowled at 0930 which will be live telecast on PTV Sports and live-streamed on PCB’s YouTube channel.
Scores in brief:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Central Punjab by six wickets at the Multan Cricket Stadium
Central Punjab 286-9, 50 overs (Qasim Akram 67, Hussain Talat 63, Saad Nasim 46 not out, Ahmed Shehzad 35; Mohammad Imran 3-53, Sajid Khan 3-62)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 290-4, 49 overs (Kamran Ghulam 109, Ashfaq Ahmed 71, Adil Amin 60, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 26)
Player-of-the-match – Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
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