National T20 Cup: Balochistan register 16-run win over Southern Punjab

MULTAN (Monitoring Desk): Balochistan down Southern Punjab by 16 runs in their National Twenty20 (T20) Cup high-scoring encounter at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan on Sunday.

Chasing a target of 231 runs, Southern Punjab suffered an early setback when they lost their dashing opener Zeeshan Ashraf in the first over of the innings for eight. In-form batsman Sohaib Maqsood, was looking in sublime touch again but was caught behind for 20 on the bowling of all-rounder Amad Butt.

Hard-hitting batsman Khushdil Shah provided much needed impetus to the chase as he combined with skipper Shan Masood to form a 103-run partnership.

With Southern Punjab still needing 81 runs from 6 overs, left-arm pacer Akif Javed struck gold as he dismissed Masood for 72.

Khushdil continued his surge towards the target but his 72-run knock from 34 balls wasn’t enough to take Southern Punjab over the finish line. Akif bagged three crucial wickets to derail Southern Punjab’s chase.

Earlier, Balochistan’s decision to bat first paid massive dividends as they scored 230 for 4 in their allotted 20 overs. After a slow start to their innings and losing opener Awais Zia inside the power play, wicketkeeper-batsman Bismillah Khan tried to accelerate the run rate with his 39-run knock from 23 balls.

Following Bismillah’s dismissal, Imamul Haq continued to play the anchor role, while Balochistan captain Haris Sohail upped the ante from the other end and scored a blistering half-century from just 23 balls. Sohail and Imam combined for 97-run partnership before Sohail was dismissed for 53 by all-rounder Hussain Talat.

Sohail’s departure didn’t slow down the batting side as all-rounder Amad Butt’s handy 22-run cameo along with Imam’s 94-run knock helped Balochistan reach a mammoth total.