Karachi Whites down Lahore Blues

LAHORE: Karachi Region Whites, Faisalabad Region, Hyderabad Region, Islamabad Region, Multan Region and Sialkot Region continued their winning march in the National T20 Cup at different venues.

Karachi Whites secured a 37-run victory over Lahore Blues at the Gaddafi Stadium, courtesy Saud Shakeel’s brilliant knock of 73 and Arif Yaqoob’s fiery four-wicket haul.

Karachi posted 171-5, with Saud anchoring the innings, while Lahore Blues collapsed to 134 all out in 18.5 overs.

Despite a 37-run opening partnership from Umar Siddiq (24) and Babar Azam (22), Lahore lost wickets regularly. Qasim Akram top-scored with 36. Leg spinner Arif Yaqoob (4-23) and Danish Aziz (2-28) dismantled Lahore’s middle and lower orders to seal Karachi’s win.

Islamabad Region outclassed Dera Murad Jamali with a commanding 68-run win, defending their total of 184-7.

Captain Rohail Nazir (58) and Naseerullah Khan (41) powered Islamabad’s innings, while Dera Murad Jamali faltered at 116-6.

Player of the Match Arsal Sheikh bowled a stellar spell, finishing with figures of 3-14 in four overs, crippling Dera Murad Jamali’s chase.

Faisalabad Region continued with their winning streak with a 24-run triumph over Rawalpindi. Muhammad Awais Zafar starred with an unbeaten 87, forging a 103-run partnership with Raees Ahmed (53). Faisalabad posted 207-4.

In response, Rawalpindi stumbled early but found resistance in Mubasir Khan (44) and Mehran Mumtaz (51). Despite Mehran’s joint fastest half-century of the tournament, Rawalpindi fell short at 183-8, with Momin Qamar claiming three wickets.

Hyderabad defeated Abbottabad by seven wickets as they chased down a target of 127 in just 14.5 overs losing three wickets. Abbottabad, despite an opening stand of 48 runs from Shahzaib Khan (31) and Sajjad Ali Hashmi (29), crumbled to 127 all out, with Kashif Bhatti, Majid Asghar, and Jawad Ali each taking three wickets for the rivals.

Hyderabad’s chase was spearheaded by Saad Khan (43), Ubaidullah (36), and Muhammad Azeem Ghumman (34*).

Multan registered their first win of the tournament, defeating AJK by five wickets. Chasing 165, skipper Imam-ul-Haq led from the front with an unbeaten 79. All-rounder Sharoon Siraj contributed 39 following a scalp of 3-10 to earn Player of the Match award.

Earlier, AJK’s Usman Maroof scored 40, helping his side post 164-8. Mohammad Ismail took three wickets.

Sialkot breezed past FATA, bundling them out for 107 in 18.1 overs, courtesy of outstanding bowling from Hasan Ali (3-16), Usama Mir (3-19), and Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti (2-18).

Sialkot’s top order then made light work of the chase, reaching the target in 14.1 overs. Mirza Tahir Baig (37) and Mohammad Huraira (37*) led the charge as Sialkot claimed a comprehensive seven-wicket win.