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National T20 Cup 2026: Discussion Thread [from March 7 to March 18]

Rafay some talent was completely wrongly used in world cup i wud have opned with him and asked saim to come one down
 
Lahore Region Whites and Karachi Region Whites secured victories against Peshawar Region and Faisalabad Region, respectively, on the opening day of ABS Developers National T20 Cup 2026 on Saturday night here at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar.

In the tournament’s first game, Lahore Whites’ Farhan Yousaf’s 61 not out and opening batter Muhammad Akhlaq’s 46-ball 58 powered their side to a six-wicket victory as they chased Peshawar’s total of 167-9.

After losing three wickets for 48 runs in the powerplay, Farhan and Akhlaq knitted an 80-run partnership off 47 deliveries to take their side close to victory.

Akhlaq was dismissed in the 14th over after scoring 58 off 46 hitting eight fours and one six. Farhan remained unbeaten on 61 off 31 laced with five fours and four sixes.

Mohammad Mohsin’s unbeaten 17 off nine deliveries, featuring two fours sealed the win for his side with 18 balls to spare. For Peshawar, Mohammad Nawaz picked up two of the three early wickets to fall, while Usman Tariq and Mohammad Imran Jnr dismissed one batter each.

Earlier, Peshawar’s opening batter Yasir Khan (65, 37b, 4x4s, 5x6s) shared a 44-run opening wicket partnership with Abuzar Tariq (26, 22b, 2x4s, 2x6s) before the former departed on the final delivery of the fifth over.

Yasir added another 24 runs for the second wicket with Mohammad Haris (12, 7b, 2x4s) before sharing another 56-run alliance with Waqar Ahmed (28, 26b, 2x4s).

Lahore Whites’ bowlers only gave away 32 runs and took six wickets in the last five over of Peshawar’s innings after they had scored 135-3 in 15 overs.

For Lahore Whites, skipper Aamir Jamal spearheaded the bowling attack, grabbing three wickets for 40 in his four overs. Mohammad Rameez Jnr aided his captain, returning figures of 4-0-24-2. Ubaid Shah and Naseem Shah also had one wicket each to their name.

In the second game of the day, Karachi Whites romped to an eight-wicket win with 17 balls to spare against Faisalabad while chasing 172.

After putting Faisalabad in to bat first, Karachi Whites struck thrice inside the first four overs as Faisalabad slipped from 34 for no loss in 2.1 overs to 39 for three in four overs.

The brisk start before the mini collapse was provided by opening batter Mohammad Faizan’s quick-fire 30 off 13 balls featuring four fours and two sixes before Saim Ayub struck to remove him in third over.

Saim returned in ninth over to dent Faisalabad once again as he got rid of Mubasir Khan with Faisalabad reeling at 57-4 in 8.3 overs.

No.3 batter Muhammad Awais Zafar then shared a 70-run alliance off 41 deliveries with skipper Muhammad Irfan Khan (36, 23b, 4x4s) for the fifth wicket to take their team out of trouble.

With Faisalabad at 127 for five after Irfan’s dismissal in the 16th over, Awais launched a late charge to power his side to 171-7 in 20 overs. He finished unbeaten on 81 off 53 balls, hitting six fours and three sixes.

For Karachi Whites, Saim Ayub and Muhammad Umar both returned similar figures of 4-0-30-2. Pacers Mohammad Hamza Sohail and Saqib Khan removed one batter each.

In reply, opening batter Saim (33, 25b, 3x4s, 1x6) and Abdullah Fazal provided their side with a decent start stitching a 63-run stand before the former fell to pacer Mohammad Zeeshan in the eighth over.

After Zaman Khan removed Saud Shakeel in the 12th over with 88 on the board, Karachi Whites’ Khawaja Mohammad Nafay and Abdullah combined to smash an unbeaten 86-run alliance off 35 balls for the third wicket to take their side home.

Nafay had walked in when Karachi required 84 off 52 balls, and he soon raced to 48 not out off 20 on the back of six fours and two sixes, turning the game on its head. Abdullah remained not out on 76 off 51 balls, hitting three fours and five sixes.

On the second day of the tournament, the Group B fixtures will get underway with Abbottabad taking on Multan in the first match and Sialkot facing Karachi Blues in the second game.

Scores in brief:

Match 1: Lahore Region Whites beat Peshawar Region by six wickets at Imran Khan Cricket Stadium, Peshawar.

Peshawar 167-9, 20 overs (Yasir Khan 65, Waqar Ahmed 28, Abuzar Tariq 26; Aamir Jamal 3-40, Mohammad Rameez Jnr 2-24)

Lahore Whites 168-4, 17 overs (Farhan Yousaf 61 not out, Muhammad Akhlaq 58; Mohammad Nawaz 2-40)

Player of the match: Farhan Yousaf (Lahore Region Whites)

Match 2: Karachi Region Whites beat Faisalabad Region by eight wickets at Imran Khan Cricket Stadium, Peshawar

Faisalabad 171-7, 20 overs (Muhammad Awais Zafar 81 not out, Muhammad Irfan Khan 36, Mohammad Faizan 30; Saim Ayub 2-30, Muhammad Umar 2-30)

Karachi Whites 174-2, 17.1 overs (Abdullah Fazal 76 not out, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay 48 not out, Saim Ayub 33)

Player of the match: Abdullah Fazal (Karachi Region Whites)

Sunday’s Fixtures

Abbottabad v Multan at 4.15pm PKT

Sialkot v Karachi Blues at 9.15pm PKT
 
How has Abdullah Fazal not been part of any Shaheens nor PSL teams?

He is one of the few all-format players in Pakistan and he is not in the reckoning anywhere.
 
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