Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kamran Ghulam unbeaten 123 led his side to a six-wicket win over Balochistan in the third round match of the Pakistan Cup 2022-23 here at the State Bank Stadium in Karachi on Wednesday. In other matches of the third round, Central Punjab overcame Southern Punjab by 25 runs, while Sindh defeated Northern by 29 runs.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Balochistan, State Bank Stadium
The match which was live-streamed on PCB’s YouTube channel saw a one-minute silence observed by both teams and match officials before the start of play for Balochistan’s assistant coach and former first-class cricketer Raj Hans, who passed away earlier this morning.
After being asked to bat first by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s captain Sajid Khan, the defending champions Balochistan scored 313 for eight in 50 overs courtesy half-centuries by Bismillah Khan (88 not out, 69b, 11×4, 2×6) and Imran Butt (76, 80b, 10×4).
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Ihsanullah took three wickets for 72 in 1o overs, while Mohammad Imran bagged two for 69.
In return, the right-handed Kamran Ghulam scored an unbeaten 123 off 115 balls, smashing six fours and as many sixes to help his side chase down the target in 49 overs. He was equally supported by Waqar Ahmed, who scored a 86-ball 87, hitting nine fours and two sixes. Kamran and Waqar stitched a 125-run partnership for the third wicket. Khushdil Shah was other notable run-getter for the winning side, scoring 47 off 50 balls, laced with one four and three towering sixes.
For the losing side, Amad Butt and Khurram Shahzad grabbed two wickets apiece.
Central Punjab v Southern Punjab, NBP Sports Complex
In the Punjab Derby, Central Punjab captain Aamer Yamin’s economical spell of bowling led his side to a 25-run win Southern Punjab in a low-scoring match. Opting to bat first, Central Punjab were dismissed for 153 in the 35th over, with opening batter Mohammad Faizan top-scoring with 40 off 51 balls, which included five fours and one six. Zafar Gohar, batting at number eight, scored a handful 43-ball 36, smashing three fours and two sixes.
For Southern Punjab, Arafat Minhas and Hassan Khan took three wickets each. Tahir Hussain took two for 16 from his five overs.
In the run-chase, Central Punjab bowlers never allowed their opponents to settle down and took wickets at regular intervals and bundled them out for 128 in the 35th over. Hassan Khan returned undefeated for his side, scoring 32 off 31 balls, hitting two fours and one six.
Player of the match Aamer, with his right-arm fast ended up with match figures of 6-1-19-2. Zafar was the top wicket-taker for his side, taking three for 42 from nine overs. Leg-spinner Usama Mir took two for 25 in 6.4 overs.
Northern v Sindh, UBL Sports Complex
Half-centuries by Danish Aziz and Saim Ayub and three wickets from Shahnawaz Dahani gave Sindh their first win of the tournament. After being asked to bat first, Sindh scored 327 for five. The left-handed Danish struck seven fours and four sixes during his 50-ball 82. He was equally supported by southpaw opening batter Saim, who scored 77 off 80 balls, studded with 11 fours and one six.
For Northern, spinner Mehran Mumtaz bagged two wickets for 43.
In return, Northern fell 30 runs short of the target and were bowled out for 298 in the 48th over. Umar Akmal top-scored for his side with a 58-ball 95, which included 10 fours and five sixes. Zeeshan Malik scored 87 off 86, hitting 10 fours and three sixes.
Right-arm fast Dahani bagged three wickets for the winning team, while Danish, Mohammad Hasnain and Saim took two wickets apiece.
Scores in brief:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Balochistan by six wickets
Balochistan 313-8, 50 overs (Bismillah Khan 88 not out, Imran Butt 76, Haseebullah 42, Amad Butt 38; Ihsanullah 3-72, Mohammad Imran 2-69)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 314-4, 49 overs (Kamran Ghulam 123 not out, Waqar Ahmed 87, Khushdil Shah 47, Rehan Afridi 32; Khurram Shahzad 2-58, Amad Butt 2-65)
Player of the match – Kamran Ghulam (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa)
Central Punjab beat Southern Punjab by 25 runs
Central Punjab 153 all out, 34.2 overs (Mohammad Faizan 40, Zafar Gohar 36; Arafat Minhas 3-30, Hassan Khan 3-35, Tahir Hussain 2-16)
Southern Punjab 128 all out, 34.4 overs (Hassan Khan 32 not out; Zafar Gohar 3-42, Aamer Yamin 2-19, Usama Mir 2-25)
Player of the match – Aamer Yamin (Central Punjab)
Sindh beat Northern by 29 runs
Sindh 327-5, 50 overs (Danish Aziz 82 not out, Saim Ayub 77; Mehran Mumtaz 2-43)
Northern 298 all out, 47.4 overs (Umar Akmal 95, Zeeshan Malik 87; Shahnawaz Dahani 3-60, Saim Ayub 2-29, Mohammad Hasnain 2-36, Danish Aziz 2-58)
Player of the match – Danish Aziz (Sindh)
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