Southern Punjab win thriller against Sindh

KARACHI: Southern Punjab won a thrilling National T20 Cup 2nd XI tournament match against home side Sindh by five runs at the National Stadium in Karachi Monday, says a press release.

With the win, Southern Punjab maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament and qualified for the semi-finals with a 100 percent record, winning each of their five group matches.

Southern Punjab were asked to bat first by Sindh captain Rameez Raja Junior. In-form opener Zeeshan Ashraf scored a 28-ball 36 with four fours and one six. Maqbool Ahmed top-scored with 50 off 43 balls.

Sindh pacers Muhammad Umer and Shahnawaz Dhani bowled with control and accuracy taking three wickets each. In reply, Sindh endured a late-order collapse and ended-up losing the game with five wickets falling for the addition of 11 runs.

Sindh were 134-4 and finished on 145-9 with right-arm pacer Ataullah, who bowled the final over of the match taking four wickets for 25 runs. Opener Jahid Ali top-scored with 40 off 30 balls, Rameez made 28 runs while Rameez Aziz scored 27.

Scores in brief: At National Stadium, Karachi: Southern Punjab 150-9 in 20 overs (Maqbool Ahmed 50, Zeeshan Ashraf 36; Shahnawaz Dhani 3-21, Muhammad Umer 3-27). Sindh 145-9 in 20 overs (Jahid Ali 40, Rameez Raja Jr 28, Rameez Aziz 27; Ataullah 4-25, Muhammad Ali Khan 3-32).