Hassan magic helps Sindh down Balochistan

KARACHI: Left-arm spinner Hassan Khan produced his career-best figures to enable Sindh to down Balochistan by seven wickets in their sixth round fixture of the Pakistan Cup One-day tournament for First XIs here at the UBL Sports Complex on Monday.

Hassan captured 4-15 in just 3.3 overs as Sindh dismissed Balochistan for a paltry total of 116 in the 26th over. Mir Hamza, left-arm pacer, ably backed Hassan by taking 2-36 in six overs. Skipper Imran Farhat top-scored for Balochistan, hitting five fours in his 62-ball 32. Adnan Akmal got run out on 19 which featured three fours.

Sindh chased the target in the 20th over for the loss of three wickets. After losing three quick wickets for only 23, Khurram Manzoor (56*) and Danish Aziz (46*) shared 95 runs for the third wicket unbroken stand to take their team to the target.

Khurram hit six fours and one six from 51 balls while Danish smacked one six and six fours in his 54-ball knock. Left-arm pacer Taj Wali got 3-35 in six overs. The win helped Sindh stretch their points to eight at the summit. The loss left Balochistan at four points at the rock bottom.

Meanwhile, here at the SBP Ground, Test cricketer Iftikhar Ahmed smashed 123 to enable Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to beat Northern by five wickets. Iftikhar smashed 12 fours and three sixes in his 110-ball knock as KP chased the 325-run target with ten balls to spare. Iftikhar added 168 for the fourth wicket partnership with Adil Amin, who belted 93 not out, striking four sixes and five fours from 78 balls. Fakhar Zaman made 40-ball 42 with six fours. Athar Mahmood got 3-76 in his quota of ten overs.

Earlier, Haider Ali hit 95 and Rohail Nazir made 68 to enable Northern to pile up 324 all out in the allotted 50 overs. Haider struck nine fours and three sixes in his 87-ball knock. He scored 82 runs for the opening stand with Zeeshan Malik, who fell for 18. Rohail then took charge, striking three sixes and four fours in his 50-ball rapid knock. Irfanullah Shah got 4-68, while Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Waseem captured three wickets each.

The win took KP to eight points but they stand at the second spot behind Sindh due to net run-rate. The loss left Northern at the third spot with six points. Here at the NBP Sports Complex, Central Punjab recorded their third win when they overwhelmed Southern Punjab by five wickets. Southern Punjab posted 232 all out in the 46th over with Mukhtar Ahmed scoring 94 off 98 balls, smacking nine fours and three sixes. He scored 133 for the first wicket stand with skipper Shan Masood, who made 49 off 73 balls, striking five fours.

Raza Ali Dar and Zafar Gohar got three wickets each.

Central Punjab chased the target in 45 overs after losing five wickets. Tayyab Tahir made 60 off 69 balls, striking eight fours. He added 71 for the third wicket with Usman Salahuddin, who made 89-ball 67 not out, striking four fours. Saad Nasim made run-a-ball 42 with six fours. Qasim Akram contributed valuable 22 not out which came off 17 balls, featuring two fours and one six.

Leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood got 2-52, while Mohammad Ilyas, Mukhtar Ahmed and Mohammad Imran claimed one wicket each. The win took Central Punjab to six points at the fourth place, while the defeat left Southern Punjab at the fifth spot with four points. Four more rounds are yet to go before the knock-out stage.