Sindh, Balochistan, Central Punjab record comfortable wins

LAHORE: Sindh, Balochistan and Central Punjab had an easy sailing in their respective matches of the ongoing National U19 One-Day Tournament on Saturday.

In the third-round of the event, a three-wicket haul and 41 runs from Sindh’s captain Saim Ayub steered his side to a five-wicket win over Southern Punjab, while Northern and Central Punjab registered victories over Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, respectively.

At Country Club in Muridke, after being put to bat, Southern Punjab were bowled out for 107 in 37.1 overs. Aun Shehzad (46) and Mehboob Ahmad (23) were the only batsmen to manage double figures. Adeel took three wickets for 22 runs. Saim and Zeeshan Zameer took three wickets apiece.

Sindh chased down the target in 15 overs for the loss of five wickets. Saim’s 30-ball 41 included eight fours and a six. Kashif Ali scored a quickfire unbeaten 28 from 11 balls, laced with three fours and two sixes. Faisal Akram and Mehboob Ahmad picked two wickets each.

Saim was named the player of the match.

At Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Northern cruised to a nine-wicket win over Balochistan. The latter, after being asked to bat, were bowled out for 92 in 25 overs. Faiz Ullah, who batted at nine, was the top-scorer with 17 from 24 balls. Adil Naz, later named player of the match, and Faizan Saleem picked three wickets apiece, while Mubasir Khan and Zaman Khan grabbed two wickets each.

Northern chased down the target in 15.5 overs courtesy a 44-run opening partnership between Hassan Abid Kiyani (30 from 24 balls, five fours) and Raza-ul-Mustafa, who made 23 not out from 34 balls, hitting two fours.

At LCCA Ground, Lahore, Central Punjab held their nerves to clinch a three-run win over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Central Punjab were dismissed for 177 in the 47th over after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Abbas Ali elected to field. Mohammad Huraira, the Central Punjab captain, top-scored with 87-ball 72, laced with five fours and two sixes. He knitted a 40-run partnership for the first wicket with Ali Hasan (21). Left-arm spinner Haris Khan took four wickets for 23 in 10 overs. Maaz Sadaqat and Usman Shah chipped in with two wickets each.

Chasing 178, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa opening batsmen Mohammad Farooq (31) and Salman Khan (9) provided an opening stand of 57. After the departure of both batsmen, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. At one stage, they were 87 for six.

Ahmed Khan, coming to bat at eight, provided some stability and top-scored with a 58-ball 39, which included two fours. After the departure of Ahmed, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were bowled out for 174 in 39 overs. Hunain Shah and Arham Nawab picked three wickets apiece. Hunain was named player of the match.