KARACHI: Lahore Whites bowed out of the National T20 Cup with a 30-run win over Sialkot, featuring a century by opener Mohammad Faiq in the Super Eight fixture here are the UBL Sports Complex on Friday.

Lahore Blues, meanwhile, narrowly missed out on beating high-flying Abbotabad and finishing their campaign on a high. Both the Lahore outfits could manage only two wins from their respective seven matches of the stage.

For Abbotabad, the three-wicket win over the Blues was a morale booster as they head into the semi-finals after already qualifying for them earlier, placed second just under Peshawar, who made it six out of six with a six-wicket beating of bottom-placed Fata.

Faiq smashed an unbeaten 110 off 60 balls to boost Lahore Whites to 189-2, with the help of 16 fours and two sixes before Mohammad Irfan’s three wickets restricted Sialkot to 159.

Pakistan veteran Shoaib Malik top scored for the losing side with 64 off 33 balls, bludgeoning two fours and six sixes.

At the NBP Sports Complex, the Lahore Blues bowlers stretched their match against Abbotabad to the penultimate ball but couldn’t help their team avoid a defeat.

Abbotabad’s chase of 172 was anchored by a knock of 60 runs off 41 balls by opener Sajjad Ali, who hit six fours and two sixes, before Kamran Ghulam plundered the Blues bowlers for 69 runs off 45 balls – the innings featuring five fours and four sixes.

Riding on the duo’s partnership of 83 runs, Shahab Khan’s cameo of 26 off 10 balls was enough to take Abbotabad home. Earlier, Qasim Akram (40 off 33, three fours) and Rizwan Hussain (36 off 27, four fours and a six) had put up a partnership of 66 runs to steer Lahore Blues out of trouble after their openers had fallen early.

With their relentless approach at the National Bank Stadium, Peshawar bulldozed their way past Fata, who had done well to post 180-3 after being put into bat first.

It was majorly made possible by a 56-ball 90 by Rehan Afridi, who hit eight fours and four sixes. However, Peshawar’s in-form opener Sahibzada Farhan launched an onslaught of 74 off 40 with the help of sven fours and five sixes to cancel out Rehan’s effort.

After Farhan’s departure, Pakistan white-ball mainstay Iftikhar Ahmed finished the match with 45 off 29, hitting three towering sixes and two boundaries. Khushdil Shah managed two wickets for Fata.

Late on Thursday, Sialkot had beaten Lahore Blues by seven wickets as Huraira hit 86 off 55 balls (nine fours and three sixes).

Scores in brief:

Lahore Whites beat Sialkot by 30 runs at UBL Sports Complex

LAHORE WHITES 189-2 in 20 overs (Mohammad Faiq 110 not out, Imran Dogar 35, Ahmed Shehzad 27; Bilal Asif 1-25, Shakib Ali 1-31); SIALKOT 159 in 18.2 overs (Shoaib Malik 64, Ashir Mehmood 27, Mohammad Waleed 26, Mohammad Irfan 3-26, Mohamamd Amir Khan 1-17, Ahmed Daniyal 1-27, Mohamamd Rameez Jnr 1-31, Saad Nasim 1-54)

Abbottabad beat Lahore Blues by three wickets at NBP Sports Complex

LAHORE BLUES 171-6, 20 overs (Junaid Ali 44, Qasim Akram 40 not out, Rizwan Hussain 36; Aqib Khan 2-22, Kamran Ghulam 1-16, Mehrooz Rasheed 1-27, Shahab Khan 1-44); ABBOTTABAD 174-7 in 19.5 overs (Kamran Ghulam 69, Sajjad Ali Jnr 60, Shahab Khan 26 not out; Nisar Ahmad 2-35, Qasim Akram 1-9, Kashif Bhatti 1-28, Usman Qadir 1-31, Ali Shafique 1-41)

Peshawar beat Fata by six wickets at National Bank Stadium

FATA 180-3 in 20 overs (Rehan Afridi 90 not out, Kashif Noor 32, Salman Khan Jnr 21 not out; Iftikhar Ahmed 1-22, Mohammad Imran 1-33, Mohammad Abbas Afridi 1-42); PESHAWAR 185-4 in 19.4 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 74, Iftikhar Ahmed 45 not out, Israrullah 25; Khushdil Shah 2-36)

Sialkot beat Lahore Blues by seven wickets at National Bank Stadium

LAHORE BLUES 149-8 in 20 overs (Qasim Akram 53 not out, Imran Butt 30, Umar Siddiq 27; Shoaib Malik 2-19, Usman Khalid 2-25, Bilal Asif 1-13, Shakib Ali 1-22, Mohammad Abbas 1-36); SIALKOT 151-3 in 19.1 overs (Mohammad Huraira 86 not out, Momin Waqar 25, Mohammad Waleed 19 not out; Umaid Asif 1-24, Kashif Bhatti 1-26, Nisar Ahmad 1-37).

Published in Dawn, December 9th, 2023