Ibtisam, Ubaid help Central Punjab retain U16 cricket crown

RAWALPINDI: Ibtisam Rehman (3-34) and Ubaid Shahid (51) helped Central Punjab defeat Northern in the final to retain Under-16 National One-Day Tournament trophy here at Pindi Stadium Tuesday.

Both the players were outstanding as Central Punjab raced to winning target of 184 in 41 overs to retain the title they won last year. Central Punjab bagged Rs350,000 and a glittering trophy.

Ubaid finished the tournament with 348 runs — the most in the tournament — at a staggering average of 116 and was duly rewarded with the Best Batsman of the Tournament award. The right-handed batsman crunched two centuries in six matches.

He stroked a crucial 52-run second wicket partnership with Musa Azeem after Azan Awais, Central Punjab captain, was dismissed for two with only nine runs on the board. Musa scored 34 in his 59-ball stay at the crease. Raja Balaj made 33.

Ibtisam made a handy unbeaten contribution of 28 runs while Abdul Rehman returned undefeated on 21 off 41 balls.

Ibtisam’s exploits with the bat followed his three wickets, which played a pivotal role in restricting Northern to 183 all out in 45 overs. The all-rounder was declared Player of the Final and also bagged Best Bowler of the Tournament award after he finished with 15 scalps at 14.93. Awais Ali was the other bowler to take three wickets in the innings.

Shamyl Hussain top-scored with 35 off 47 balls. Amir Hassan (30) posted the second best score for Northern. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sheraz Khan (29) and Hammad Rafiq (23) were the other notable run-getters.

Central Punjab’s Mohammad Shoban took 2-25 as Northern were bowled out on the last ball of their innings.

Southern Punjab’s Arafat Ahmed was named Player of the Tournament as he scored 312 runs at an average of 78 and took nine wickets. His teammate Adnan Shahid shared the best wicketkeeper award with Central Punjab’s Altamash Abbas. Both players had eight dismissals each.