LAHORE: Faisalabad Region, Hyderabad Region, Islamabad Region, Karachi Region Whites, Multan Region and Sialkot Region won their respective matches of the National T20 Cup at different venues on Tuesday.

Karachi Whites beat Lahore Blues by 37 runs in a Group ‘B’ match courtesy captain Saud Shakeel’s 73 and a four-wicket haul by Arif Yaqoob at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

Left-hander Saud’s 52-ball 73 laced with eight fours and three sixes, his second half-century, steered Karachi Whites to a solid 171-5 in the stipulated 20 overs after they were asked to bat first.

In their chase, Lahore Blues lost wickets at regular intervals after opening batters Umar Siddiq (24 off 14 balls) and Babar Azam (22 off 17) gave them a 37-run start.

Qasim Akram top-scored for Lahore with a 28-ball 36 after walking in to bat at 42-3.

For Karachi Whites, Arif (4-23) and Danish Aziz (2-28) shone as Lahore Blues slipped to 101-6 before getting dismissed for 134 in 18.5 overs. Saud earned the man-of-the-match award.

In the second Group ‘B’ fixture of the day, Dera Murad Jamali Region suffered a 68-run loss at the hands of Islamabad Region.

After electing to bat first, Islamabad totalled a huge 184-7 thanks to a fine half-century by skipper Rohail Nazir (58 off 43) and opener Naseerullah Khan’s 32-ball 41. In response, DMJ could only manage 116-6 after they slipped to 58-6. Arsal Sheikh, who was later named player-of-the-match, claimed three wickets for 14 runs.

Meanwhile, Mohammad Awais Zafar’s aggressive half-century helped Faisalabad Region beat Rawalpindi Region by 24 runs in their Group ‘C’ game at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

After deciding to bat first, Faisalabad made a huge 207-3 in the allotted overs. Awais’ unbeaten 87 off 55 balls with the help of six sixes and as many fours enabled his team to make a huge total.

Awais added 103 runs with Raees Ahmed (53 off 39, six fours) for the third wicket.

In reply, Rawalpindi lost their openers for just 11 before Mubasir Khan’s 24-ball 44 took them to 79-3. They further slipped to 119-7 when Mehran Mumtaz cracked the joint fastest half-century (51 off 24, seven fours, two sixes) of the ongoing event.

For Faisalabad, Momin Qamar dismissed three batters while conceding 25 runs. Awais earned the man-of-the-match honours.

In another Group ‘C’ encounter, Hyderabad Region comfortably chased a modest 128-run target against Abbottabad Region for the loss of only three wickets at the Iqbal Stadium.

After opting to bat first, Abbottabad got off to a fine 48-run start through Shahzaib Khan (31 off 20) and Sajjad Ali Hashmi (29 off 32) but collapsed losing all the wickets for the addition of just 79 runs.

Man-of-the-match Kashif Bhatti (3-16), Majid Asghar (3-25) and Jawad Ali (3-29) were the main wicket-takers for Hyderabad.

Saad Khan (43 off 26), Ubaidullah (36) and Mohammad Azeem Ghumman (34 not out) were main contributors as Hyderabad overhauled the target in just 14.5 overs.

Skipper Imam-ul-Haq smashed an attacking 79 while Sharoon Siraj displayed a fine all-round performance as Multan overcame Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) by five wickets in a Group ‘D’ fixture at the LCCA Ground, Lahore.

Imam’s unbeaten knock came off just 46 balls and contained 10 fours and a couple of sixes. Player-of-the-match Sharoon’s 39 off 26 and a three-wicket haul for 10 runs handed Multan their first win of the tournament.

Earlier, Usman Maroof made a 22-ball 40 as AJK posted 164-8 after choosing to bat first.

In another Group ‘D’ game, Sialkot Region outplayed Fata by three wickets at the LCCA Ground.

The decision to field first proved correct for Sialkot who bundled out Fata for a mere 107 in 18.1 overs.

Hasan Ali (3-16), Usama Mir (3-19) and Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti (2-18) were the primary wicket-takers. Sialkot reached the target in 14.2 overs.

Openers Mirza Tahir Baig (37) and Mohammad Huraira (37 not out) were the main contributors.

Usama earned the player-of-the-match award.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2025