Central Punjab halt Northern’s winning run

ISLAMABAD: Playing their first match of the National T20 Cup 2020, Faheem Ashraf (4-18 & 52 not out) and captain Babar Azam (86 not out) helped Central Punjab halt Northern’s winning streak with an eight-wicket victory at the Pindi Stadium on Friday.

Babar and Faheem made the Northern captain pay for his decision to bat first as Central Punjab reached the 166-run target in 17 overs on a pitch suitable to stroke-making.

The duo hammered the experienced Northern bowling attack to all parts of the ground and put on 105 runs for the unbroken third wicket partnership after Central Punjab had lost Kamran Akmal (21) and Abdullah Shafiq (3) early.

Central Punjab had a tough run in the first leg of the tournament in Multan, with just one win in five matches.

Babar struck two sixes and 11 fours in his entertaining 52-ball knock while Faheem hit seven fours and two sixes and had a strike rate of 200.

Both made batting look ridiculously easy against a powered packed Northern bowling attack that included Mohammad Amir (0-36 off 3 overs), Sohail Tanvir (0-36 off 4 overs) and Haris Rauf (0-17 off 2 overs). Shadab Khan picked both the wickets for 39 runs.

Earlier, Faheem — returning to action after an injury scare — was on target straight away as he removed Sohail Akhtar (17) and Zeeshan Malik (9) in his first over. Umar Amin (0) opened the innings for the first time this season and fell in the opening over to left-arm pacer Sohaibullah (1-15). Rohail Nazir (4) also fell cheaply.

It was left to Asif Ali (67) and Shadab (39) to take Northern out of trouble. The pair added 87 runs for the fifth wicket to put the innings back on track before a mini-collapse saw Northern end up on 165-9 in 20 overs. Asif struck five sixes and four boundaries in his 33-ball innings while Shadab’s knock was studded with four fours.

“I don’t regret the decision to bat first. We fielded poorly and that’s the reason for our defeat,” said Imad Wasim, who was leading Northern for the first time in the ongoing National T20 Cup.

Central Punjab captain Babar Azam was all praise for Man-of-the-Match Faheem, saying the all-rounder bowled and batted brilliantly. “Once we settled down, runs were coming easily. Faheem’s contribution with bat and ball was decisive,” he said.

Central Punjab raised their points tally to four while Northern still lead the table with 10 points.

Scores in brief: Northern 165-9 in 20 overs (Asif Ali 67, Shadab Khan 39; Faheem Ashraf 4-18, Usman Qadir 2-36, Ehsan Adil 2-37). Central Punjab 167-2 in 17 overs (Babar Azam 86 not out, Faheem Ashraf 52 not out; Shadab Khan 2-39).

Result: Central Punjab won by eight wickets.

Player of the match: Faheem Ashraf (Central Punjab).