LAHORE: Sindh beat Northern by five wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium to clinch Cricket Associations Challenge title on Saturday.
Chasing 260 to win, Sindh’s Usman Khan struck a 91-ball 116 to help his side achieve the target against Northern in the 43rd over. The right-handed batter scored his first century in the tournament which included 11 fours and five sixes. Ammad Alam batting at number three scored a quick-fire 45 off 38 balls, laced with four fours and two sixes. The pair added 83 runs for the second wicket.
For Northern, Nasir Nawaz picked two wickets for 45.
Earlier, after opting to bat, Northern scored 259 for five in 45 overs. Ali Sarfraz and Aqib Shah both scored 57. Taimoor Sultan chipped in with a 78-ball 51, which included three fours.
Hasan Mohsin took three for 50 in nine overs.
Sindh became the first team to win all three second XI tournaments in a season since the inception of the new domestic structure in 2019.
Sindh had won the Cricket Associations T20 held at Bugti Stadium in Quetta from September 15 to 22 and three-day Cricket Associations Championship held from September 29 to November 14.
At LCCA Ground in Lahore, Central Punjab defeated Balochistan by 98 runs. After being put into bat, Central Punjab scored 321 for seven in 45 overs. Opening batter Mohammad Faizan top-scored with 94 off 86 balls, hitting 11 fours and four sixes. His opening partner Abdul Samad scored a 55-ball 58, which included 10 fours. The pair scored 154 runs for the opening stand.
Muhammad Akhlaq batting at number three scored run-a-ball 61, smashing four fours and two sixes. Saad Nasim contributed 47 off 42, laced with two fours and as many sixes.
Tariq Jameel bagged two wickets for 79.
Balochistan were bowled out for 223 in the 38th over. Gulraiz Sadaf top-scored with a 66-ball 75, hitting nine fours. Down the order, Abdul Nasir and Mohammad Junaid contributed 40 and 38 runs, respectively.
For Central Punjab, Fahad Munir and Kamran Afzal grabbed three wickets apiece.
At Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Southern Punjab beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 87 runs. Batting first, Southern Punjab scored 311 for five in 45 overs. Mukhtar Ahmed top-scored with 85 off 101, hitting five fours and two sixes. His opening partner Zeeshan Ashraf scored 60 off 62, laced with four fours and as many sixes. The pair scored 119 runs for the opening wicket.
Rameez Alam coming to bat at number three returned undefeated on 61 off 55, which included three fours and two sixes. Captain Moinuddin retired hurt after contributing 22-ball 49, laced with five fours and three sixes.
Atizaz Habib Khan and Mohammad Imran grabbed two wickets apiece.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were dismissed for 224 in the 41st over with Sarwar Afridi contributing 67 off 61 balls, which included four fours and three sixes. Fazal-ur-Rehman scored a 50-ball 54, hitting six fours and two sixes.
Umar Khan picked three for 41, while Ahmed Hasan, Ali Majid and Mohammad Irfan grabbed two wickets each.
Sindh topped the points table with four wins out of five and earned eight points.