Salman helps Ufone lift CPL T20 trophy

LAHORE: Salman Khan brilliant’s unbeaten knock of 66 has helped Ufone lift the Pepsi CPL Twenty20 Championship 2017 glittering trophy as they thumped Allied Bank 33 runs in the final played here at the Shah Faisal Ground.

Allied Bank won the toss and decided to field first. Ufone utilized the opportunity well and posted 186 runs on the board for the loss of 5 wickets in the allotted overs.

Salman Khan was hero of the day for the winning side as he slammed unbeaten 66 runs and was ably assisted by Bilal Bari (47) and Ali Sikandar (27). From Allied Bank, Faiz Sultan took two wickets while Awais Khan and Asif Zaheer got one wicket each.

Chasing the target of 187 runs, Allied Bank could score only 55 runs in the allotted overs. Rizwan Aslam (45) and Umar Ashfaq (19) batted well but their efforts couldn’t bear fruit for their team, which lost the final by 33 runs. From Ufone, Khayyam Abbas clinched three wickets while Najeeb Ullah took two and Ahsan Zaidi and Nasir Ali got one wicket apiece.

For his brilliant unbeaten knock of 66, Salman Khan was declared man of the final.

Aam Awam Party chairman Sohail Zia Butt graced the final as chief guest while Unifoam Director Bilal Sheikh, CPS chairman Ahsan Zaki, Amir Cables CEO Amir Ilyas Butt, Allied Bank divisional head Sarwar Ali Usman, renowned TV actor Rashid Mehmood, Nadeem Pehalwan and Faisal Riaz were guests of honour and they along with chief guest gave away trophies and souvenirs to the winners and top performers.

Sikandar Subhani of Raaziq was named best fielder, Zeeshan Malik best wicketkeeper, Khayyam Abbas of Ufone best bowler and Salman Khan was declared the best batsman and player of the series.