National T20 Tournament: Balochistan, Northern set up title clash

LAHORE: Balochistan and Northern cruised into the final of National T20 Tournament in thrilling fashion at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium on Wednesday.Northern beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by three runs in a last over thriller to secure a spot in the final while Balochistan edged out Southern Punjab by three wickets thanks to a last ball six by Ammad Butt.Verteran pair of former Pakistan captains Shoaib Malik (64) and M Hafeez (65) struck valuable fifties for Southern Punjab and took their total to 173 in 20 overs for the loss of five wickets.In reply, Balochistan chased the target for the loss of seven wickets on the last ball when Ammad Butt hammered Umaid Asif for a towering match-winning six.Northern fast-bowler Haris Rauf defended eight runs in the last over, taking three wickets in process, of the first semi-final.Haris started the over by taking the wicket of Iftikhar Ahmed, the top-scorer of the run-chase with 53 from 45 balls. Musadiq Ahmed (0 off 1), Zohaib Khan (5 off 5) and Mohammad Mohsin, who was run-out, were the other three wickets to fall in the over.Northern had set a target of 149 after being asked to bat by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Mohammad Rizwan.Opener Umar Amin scored a 33-ball 43, hitting four fours and a six, and stitched a 50-run stand for the third-wicket with wicketkeeper-batsman Rohail Nazir, who scored run-a-ball 21. Asif Ali was the other notable run-getter as he scored 28 runs from 16 balls with two sixes and a four.With five wickets for just 13 runs in four overs, Usman Shinwari was the star performer with the ball, while Imran Khan Jnr took two wickets for 31 runs.In their chase, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lost opener Sahibzada Farhan (o off 4) in the first over. After scoring run-a-ball 15, Rizwan followed him back to the pavilion in the fifth over.A 65-run stand for the third-wicket between Fakhar Zaman (39 off 31) and Iftikhar, who hit six fours, stabled the run chase.Khushdil Shah’s 17-ball 22, which had three fours, consolidated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s position in the match but the match turned on its head in the last over.For taking three wickets for 26 runs in three overs and defending eight runs in six balls, Haris bagged man-of-the-match award.With two wickets for 24 runs in four overs, Sohail Tanvir was the other notable bowler in the match.Scores in brief: Northern 148-9, 20 overs (Umar Amin 43, Asif Ali 28, Rohail Nazir 21; Usman Shinwari 5-13, Imran Khan Jnr 2-31) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 145-8, 20 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 53, Fakhar Zaman 39, Khushdil Shah 22; Haris Rauf 3-26, Sohail Tanvir 2-24).

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