Match 1, Balochistan v Northern
Balochistan 139/7 in 20 overs (Amad 34; Rauf 2-18) lost to Northern 140/4 in 17 overs (Haider 58*; Bhatti 1-22) by 6 wickets with 18 balls to spare. Player of the Match: Haider Ali.
Haider Ali’s unbeaten 58 steered Northern to a comfortable six-wicket win against Balochistan in Match 1 o the Pakistan National T20 Cup 2021/22 in Rawalpindi.
Chasing a sub-par 140, Northern lost Umar Amin (2) early. At No. 3, Haider struck seven fours and three sixes in his 41-ball stay to take Northern past the finishing line with three overs to spare. Asif Ali remained not out from the other end on 20-ball 43, laced with four sixes and three fours.
Earlier, Balochistan struggled to reach 139/7 after being put in, with Amad Butt top-scoring with 24-ball 34. Haris Rauf returned 2-18 and Mohammad Nawaz 2-31.
Match 2, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Central Punjab
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 187/5 in 20 overs (Rizwan 65; Hasan Ali 3-30) beat Central Punjab 151/9 in 20 overs (Akhlaq 62; Shaheen 3-25) by 36 runs. Player of the Match: Mohammad Rizwan.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Central Punjab by 36 runs in Match 2 of the competition. They piled 187/5, and restricted Central Punjab to 151/9.
Riding on Mohammad Rizwan’s 40-ball 65 and Iftikhar Ahmed’s unbeaten 25-ball 40, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa posted a massive total after Babar Azam won the toss and asked them to bat. Hasan Ali claimed 3-30, while Wahab Riaz and Ahmed Safi Abdullah had a wicket apiece.
Coming to the chase, Muhammad Akhlaq put on a solo effort, smashing a 35-ball 62 with six fours and four sixes, but received little support from his teammates. Losing wickets in regular intervals did not help them either as they finished on 151/9.
All five Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bowlers picked up at least one wicket. Shaheen Shah Afridi impressed the most among them, with 3-25.