Northern, Sindh reach U19 cricket final

ISLAMABAD: Northern will take on defending champions Sindh in the final of the National Under-19 Three-Day Cricket Tournament at the KRL Ground in Rawalpindi from November 28 to December 1. The final will be a four-day game.

The third and final day’s play of the last round between Southern Punjab and Northern was abandoned without a ball bowled due to rain and wet outfield at the National Ground in Islamabad.

There was no play between Central Punjab and Sindh at the Army Sports Ground in Rawalpindi due to the unavailability of the ground.

At the Ayub Park Ground in Rawalpindi, rain permitted only 25 overs of play on Tuesday as the fifth round fixture between Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ended in a draw.

Resuming their innings on 92-1 in 23 overs, Balochistan managed 156-5 in 48 overs. Basit Ali, overnight on 54, went on to score 63 from 94 balls, hitting 10 fours. Haseebullah top-scored with an unbeaten 67, which was laced with eight fours. The duo added 98 runs for the second wicket.

For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Zeeshan Ahmed took three wickets for 35 runs.

At the completion of the group stage, Northern are on top of the points table on the back of two wins, while Sindh are second with one win. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Central Punjab and Balochistan finished in third, fourth and fifth positions. Southern Punjab ended up with a wooden spoon.

Scores in brief: At Ayub Park Ground, Rawalpindi: Balochistan 85 all out in 38.2 overs (Basit Ali 17; Izhar Ahmed 4-32, Ahmed Khan 3-25) and 156-5 in 48 overs (Haseebullah 67 not out, Basit Ali 63; Zeeshan Ahmed 3-35). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 194-9 in 57.2 overs (Haseeb Khan 104, Maaz Sadaqat 29, Zubair Shinwari 24; Kabir Raj 4-54, Mohammad Ibrahim Snr 2-22, Jahangir Khan 2-38). Result: Match drawn.