KARACHI: The UBL Sports Complex on a typical Friday afternoon here was quiet and peaceful, the winter sun shining gently on the facility’s Ground ‘A’, the circle outlined by the golden fall leaves as it hosted the National T20 Cup Super Eight match between Abbot­abad and Rawalpindi.

The atmosphere was comfortable and the vibe homely, in stark contrast to the much overwhelming venues of India, where Pakistan fared poorly in the recently-concluded World Cup, and so did all-rounders Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz, who arguably were the team’s weakest links during the campaign.

Both were in action for the first time since the debacle, for Rawalpindi, the region they had played for together since their early days as professional cricketers.

The duo would go on to lead the team’s way to a 32-run victory, performing with both the bat and the ball, to experience the feeling of a being a match-winner, which they were once considered.

Shadab and Nawaz did so in the most remarkable of ways, first by lifting Rawalpindi out of trouble after the team was struggling at 26-4 after captain Shadab had won the toss and decided to bat first, then by taking two wickets each to restrict Abbotabad to 147-5.

Nawaz smashed five fours and as many sixes in his knock off 72 off just 36 balls. Shadab, meanwhile, added 42 runs off 31 balls, hitting three fours and two sixes as Rawalpindi posted 179-7.

Abbotabad looked stunned by the onslaught they had been subjected to it showed while they batted. Despite having the services of flamboyant Pakistan opener Fakhar Zaman at the top of the order, the Yasir Shah-led side went off to a slow start.

Fakhar, after hitting two sixes and four for his 30 off 29 balls, was undone by Shadab, before Nawaz got seasoned batter Kamran Ghulam, who added 26 off 20. The two Rawalpindi stars added two more scalps to their tally as Abbotabad succumbed to the ask, which only kept rising.

In the day’s other matches, Sialkot earned a dominant eight wicket win over Fata at the NBP Sports Complex while Peshawar won by seven wickets against Lahore Whites at the National Bank Stadium.

Three wickets each by Sohaibullah and Mohammad Ali had helped the Shoaib Malik-led unit to bundle Fata out for 103 before Mohammad Huraira (47 off 38, five fours) and Salman Khan (48 off 38, three fours and six) boosted them to the target in the 15th over.

For Peshawar, it was opener Sahibzada Farhan’s whirlwind 64 off 31 that made the difference as they chased down a 137-run target with ease. Farhan plundered the Lahore bowlers for eight fours and four sixes and was complimented well by Mohammad Haris’ 52 off 28 (one four and six sixes).

Earlier, veteran batters Ahmed Shehzad (53 off 35) and Umar Akmal (49 off 46) did well for Lahore but couldn’t push the team to a total big enough to win.

Published in Dawn, December 2nd, 2023