FAISALABAD: Lahore Blues beat Peshawar by nine wickets in the final to clinch the National T20 Cup title here at the Iqbal Stadium on Thursday, thanks to a Salman Mirza’s four-wicket haul and Umer Siddique’s half century.

Chasing a modest target of 111 runs, Lahore made light work of the challenge, completing the chase in just 16 overs.

Batting first, Peshawar innings never gained any momentum, despite a few bright moments from their top order. The innings was dominated by a steady procession of wickets, with only Mohammad Zulkifal (32 off 29, four fours and six) and Iftikhar Ahmed (34 off 33, two fours) showing any resistance.

Opener Sahibzada Farhan (17), who had led Peshawar to the final with three centuries in the tournament, and his partner Waqar Ahmed (nine) fell early, leaving the side in a precarious position at 10-2 in the second over.

Maaz Sadaqat and Israrullah followed soon after, both dismissed cheaply, leaving the side struggling at 26-4 by the end of the fourth over.

Zulkifal tried to steady the ship, adding some much-needed runs, but he too was dismissed in the 13th over, leaving Peshawar at 76-5. Iftikhar, the captain, tried to salvage the situation but fell shortly, leaving the team at 101-9 in the 19th over.

The lower order never quite fired, as the tail quickly collapsed. Peshawar finished their innings with a total of 110-9 in their 20 overs.

Salman was the standout bowler for Lahore, picking up four wickets for just 21 runs in his four-over spell.

Mohammad Irfan also played a key role with the ball, taking two wickets for 20 runs.

Lahore’s chase began on a steady note, with opener Imran Butt (11) falling to a sharp delivery from Usman Tariq. But from there, Umar and Junaid Ali took control of the match, building a match-winning partnership.

Umar was the cornerstone of Lahore’s chase, playing a composed innings of 64 from just 46 balls, including six fours and two sixes. Junaid provided excellent support, contributing a patient run-a-ball 30.

The pair’s unbroken partnership steered Lahore to the target without further loss, achieving the required total with four overs to spare.

Peshawar’s bowlers struggled to break the partnership, with only Usman (1-20) making a dent in Lahore’s chase.

Despite a few tight overs, Lahore’s batsmen were in complete control, as they easily surpassed Peshawar’s meager total.

A day earlier, Peshawar and Lahore Blues had booked their places in the decider after beating Abbottabad and Multan respectively.

Peshawar’s 56-run victory was highlighted by Sahibzada’s 148 off 72 balls, which included 10 fours and 12 sixes to leading Peshawar to 243-3. In reply, Abbottabad finished at 187-8 in their 20 overs.

In the second semi-final, Lahore Blues edged past Multan by a mere five runs in a close encounter as Imran Butt starred with an unbeaten 89 off 56 balls, striking 11 fours and two sixes.

SCOREBOARD

PESHAWAR:

Sahibzada Farhan c&b Rizwan 17

Waqar Ahmed b Irfan 9

Maaz Sadaqat lbw b Salman 1

Israrullah lbw b Qasim 2

Mohammad Zulkifal c Rizwan b Irfan 32

Iftikhar Ahmed c Rizwan b Nisar 34

Amir Barki c Farhan b Salman 2

Nizar Ali lbw b Salman 1

Amir Khan c Qasim b Salman 0

Mohammad Imran not out 1

Usman Tariq not out 7

EXTRAS (B-3, W-1) 4

TOTAL (for nine wickets, 20 overs) 110

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-10 (Waqar), 2-23 (Maaz), 3-26 (Israrullah), 4-38 (Sahibzada), 5-76 (Zulkifal), 6-88 (Barki), 7-99 (Nizar), 8-99 (Amir), 9-101 (Iftikhar)

BOWLING: Salman 4-0-21-4, Irfan 4-0-20-2, Qasim 1-0-2-1, Nisar 4-0-16-1 (1w), Rizwan 3-0-27-1, Hussain 4-0-21-0

LAHORE BLUES:

Imran Butt c Zulkifal b Usman 11

Umar Siddiq not out 64

Junaid Ali not out 30

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-5) 6

TOTAL (for one wicket, 16 overs) 111

DID NOT BAT: Hussain Talat, Hammad Butt, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Irfan, Nisar Ahmad, Salman Mirza, Mohammad Rizwan, Farhan Yousaf

FALL OF WICKET: 1-45 (Imran)

BOWLING: Nizar 3-1-26-0, Iftikhar 4-0-28-0, Amir 2-0-12-0, Usman 4-0-20-1 (3w), Imran 3-0-24-0 (2w)

RESULT: Lahore Blues won by nine wickets.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2025