BAHAWALPUR: Peshawar, Okara, Islamabad and hosts Bahawalpur beat their respective opponents in NBP T-20 (Grade-1) Blind Cricket Trophy 2019 here on Thursday.

In the first match of the day, Bahawalpur beat Azad Jammu Kashmir by 8 wickets at Dring Cricket Stadium. Batting first after winning the toss, AJK posted 161 for the loss of two wickets after the match was reduced to 15 overs a side due to dense fog in the morning. Nisar Ali scored a fluent 79 not out while Tehseen also scored 50 off just 33 balls.

In the second game, Islamabad thrashed Karachi by ten wickets at Sadiq Public School Cricket Ground. Karachi batted first and were shot our for 88 in allotted 15 overs for the loss of 7 wickets. Tahir Ali made 19. Hasnain Shah and Nisar Awan claimed 2 wickets each. In reply, Islamabad chased the target in just 5.5 overs without any loss. Sohaib made 42 runs off just (14) balls and Anees Javed made 39 off 22 balls.

Bahawalpur in reply chased the target of 162 for the loss of 2 wickets in last over of the innings. Moeen Aslam’s brilliant 86 not out was the feature of the winner’s innings. Muhammad Rashid scored 35.

In another match, Okara defeated Gujranwala by 49 runs. Okara won the toss and decided to bat first with Badar Munir hammering rival bowlers in his brilliant 122 runs off only 56 balls. Okara posted 199 runs in 15 overs for the loss of 1 wicket. Iftikhar Tiger got out after scoring 50 runs.

Gujranwala, in reply, was able to post just 150 runs in 15 overs for the loss of 5 wickets. Muhammad Akram scored 41 runs. Iftikhar Tiger took 2 wickets. Peshawar beat Lahore by seven wickets in the last match of the day at Sadiq Public School Ground. Lahore batted first to score 125 for 8 in 15 overs. Matiullah scored 77. Mohsin Khan was the star with the ball and took 4 wickets.

Peshawar in reply, reached home in 14 overs for the loss of 3 wickets. Haroon Khan and Safiullah made 47 and 44 runs respectively.

Published in Dawn, December 27th, 2019