Central Punjab win Second XI National T20 Cup
The Nauman Anwar-led side topped the six-team points table with four wins
LAHORE (Web Desk) - Central Punjab bagged the Second XI National T20 Cup title with a seven-wicket win over Northern in the last match of the single-league event at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
The Nauman Anwar-led side topped the six-team points table with four wins from their five matches, while win-less Northern finished on the last spot.
An unbeaten 57-ball 66 by Junaid Ali set the comfortable victory as Central Punjab overhauled the 134-run target with 11 balls to spare. The wicketkeeper-batsman took the lead role in the innings after Nauman, who made a quickfire 26 from 13 balls hitting four fours and a six, was dismissed by Athar Mehmood, who took two wickets for 36 runs.
Northern, who failed to win a single match, managed a meagre 133 for eight after their captain Nauman Ali elected to bat. Aamer Jamal’s 24-ball 38 not out, which included four sixes, provided some respite to the defending champions, who had half of their batting line-up back in the pavilion for just 37 runs. Sarmad Bhatti was the other notable run-getter in the innings as he hit a six and two fours for his 33 off 28 balls.
During the tournament, as many as four bowlers picked up eight wickets each – the most in the event – and the two bowlers with the best average amongst them belong to Central Punjab. Kamran did it for 13.25 runs a wicket, while Waqas’ wickets were earned at 15.75.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Sameen Gul took eight wickets for 18.50. Northern’s Athar, the 21-year-old right-arm pacer, gave away 19.63 runs for his eight wickets.
Balochistan’s Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Southern Punjab’s Zain Abbas and Central Punjab’s Mohammad Akhlaq finished as the top three run-getters with 235 at 47, 193 at 96.50 and 185 at 61.67 respectively. Based on their brilliant runs, all three earned call-ups for the second-leg of the First XI National T20 Cup which starts in Rawalpindi on Friday.
Twenty-year-old Akhlaq – who scored three half-centuries, the most in the competition – will travel to Rawalpindi to integrate with the First XI squad.
