KARACHI: Central Punjab and Northern joined table-toppers Southern Punjab and Sindh in the semi-finals of the National T20 2nd XI tournament with wins over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, respectively, at the National Stadium, Karachi, on Tuesday.
In the first match, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa scored 148 for nine after opting to bat first. Asad Afridi top-scored with 43 off 25 balls. His innings included three fours and three sixes. Mehran Ibrahim made 31 off 26 balls. The two rescued the side after Ehsan Adil and Bilawal Iqbal had reduced them to 34 for four. Ehsan finished with three wickets for 16 runs, while Bilawal took two wickets for 33.
In reply, Central Punjab batsmen chose an attacking approach which helped them chase down the target with 20 balls to spare. The big win gave them a much needed surge in the net-run-rate and confirmed their semi-final spot.
Muhammad Saad scored an unbeaten 35-ball 59 with the help of three fours and four sixes. Nauman Anwar scored 50 off 37 balls with four fours and three sixes. Sameen Gul with two wickets for 23 runs was the most successful Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bowler.
Balochistan posted 147 for seven against Northern after opting to bat first. Balochistan were reduced to 96 for seven when Nazar Hussain (39 not out, seven fours) and Dawood Khan 13 not out joined hands to take the score to 147 for seven through their unbroken 51-run stand. Left-arm-spinners Raza Hasan and Noman Ali took two wickets each for Northern.
In the first semi-final on Wednesday, table-toppers Southern Punjab will take on Central Punjab (fourth in the table). The second-placed Sindh will play third-placed Northern in the second semi-final.