KP clinch PCB-Pepsi U16 three-day tourney title

KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won the PCB-Pepsi Under-16 three-day tournament when they beat Northern inside two days by an innings and 55 runs in the three-day final played at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Monday.

Resuming their first innings at the overnight score of 191 for three, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa declared their innings at 292 for eight, which meant a 179-run lead. Abbas Ali who was unbeaten on 77 scored 101 off 158 balls. Mohammad Hasnain and Basit Ali took three wickets each for Northern.

Northern, who had scored 113 runs in the first innings, had another poor outing with the bat and were bowled out for 124 in their second innings in 35 overs. Amir Hassan top scored with 52 runs. Mohammad Umar took five wickets for 21 runs, while Muhammad Irfan took four for 68 runs to hasten Northern’s downfall.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa received Rs300,000 for winning the tournament, while Northern were given Rs200,000.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Abbas Ali was adjudged the Best Batsman of the tournament with 338 runs in three matches. Mohammad Irfan from the same team was declared the Best Bowler with 21 wickets in three matches.

Awais Qarni from Sindh and Mohammad Farooq from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were declared Best Fielders of the tournament. Best Wicketkeeper of the tournament award went to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa player Arafat Afsar.