National T20 Cup | Match 20 | Sindh [174/6] beat Balochistan [173/3] by 4 wickets

[MenInG]

Balochistan - Haris Sohail (captain), Bismillah Khan (vice-captain, wicketkeeper), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai Akbar-ur-Rehman, Akif Javed, Ammad Butt, Awais Zia, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Butt, Kashif Bhatti, Khurram Shahzad, Taimur Khan, Umaid Asif, Umar Gul, Usama Mir and Yasir Shah

Sindh - Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain, wicketkeeper), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Ahsan Ali, Anwar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Azam Khan, Danish Aziz, Ghulam Mudassir, Hassan Khan, Khurram Manzoor, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Taha, Sharjeel Khan and Sohail Khan.

 

[Firebat]

Sindh won the toss and elected to field first

 

[Titan24]

Good that Abdul Wahid is still in the XI for Balochistan. In Sindh I would have preferred Saud Shakeel playing the role which they want Asad Shafiq to play. He was dropped after just one match.

 

[Titan24]

Bad drop, robbed Hamza of a well deserved wicket.

 

[naseem]

Good start by Hasnain......hope he can keep it up.....
Musa Rauf Hasnain Arshad Akif to go with Saheen Naseem ....a pretty decent pool

 

[Pacy with wisdom]

Sohail khan is really underrated.
A very skillful bowler.

 

[ethan hunt]

sohail khan made imam look like a tail ender in that over. 5 consecutive plays and misses . This inswinger seems to be a new development .
His success in the practice games in England wasn't a fluke by the looks of it .

 

[MenInG]

Horrible dropped catch that by a Sindh fielder.

 

[MenInG]

Good that Abdul Wahid is still in the XI for Balochistan. In Sindh I would have preferred Saud Shakeel playing the role which they want Asad Shafiq to play. He was dropped after just one match.

Looks anxious at the crease.

 

[Titan24]

Looks anxious at the crease.

Yes definitely was really anxious at the start. Maybe nerves are easing down a bit now with time on the crease.

 

[Titan24]

Hasnain generating some real pace

 

[Titan24]

Now thats some shot from Wahid. A shot on which you can definitely say wow

 

[Titan24]

Paddle scooping someone of Hasnain’s pace for 4 requires some real skills.

 

[ataullah]

Paddle scooping someone of Hasnain’s pace for 4 requires some real skills.

Awesome from a 17 year old against that pace. They just need chances. Which other of our batsmen can play that shot against genuine pace?

 

[Khan12]

Abdul wahid looked pretty good. He's young and he will learn was very nervous once he got a boundary looked much better. Hopefully he's given more opportunities.

 

[Markhor]

Abdul wahid looked pretty good. He's young and he will learn was very nervous once he got a boundary looked much better. Hopefully he's given more opportunities.

Faisal Iqbal has surprised me. Didn't think he'd replace senior player Imran Farhat with Abdul Wahid. I think he's doing a good job with Balochistan.

Abdul Razzaq is the worst coach of the lot though.

 

[Belawal2014]

Wasim really loves whining...

 

[Saj]

Had to turn off the commentary it was so bad.

 

[Saj]

Paddle scooping someone of Hasnain’s pace for 4 requires some real skills.

Brilliant shot and showed what he is capable of.

 

[Khan12]

Faisal Iqbal has surprised me. Didn't think he'd replace senior player Imran Farhat with Abdul Wahid. I think he's doing a good job with Balochistan.

Abdul Razzaq is the worst coach of the lot though.

I still don't line fasial iqbal he's a toxic person but at least he's given Abdul Wahid a chance while the less said about spinich eater the best. No idea why the clowns have been given jobs. Doubt Mohammed Haris will get a game.

 

[Khan12]

Had to turn off the commentary it was so bad.

Agreed when you have clowns like wasim akram.

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Sindh is easily the most obese and the worst fielding side of the tournament.

 

[MMHS]

Pindi is probably going to be much lower scoring ground, may be 160 is per here, instead of 200 like Multan

 

[Saj]

Sindh is easily the most obese and the worst fielding side of the tournament.

One of the worst I have ever seen in T20 cricket.

 

[Markhor]

Sindh is easily the most obese and the worst fielding side of the tournament.

Two misfields in one ball just now

 

[Angrez Pakistani]

Selfish batting from imam.

 

[Belawal2014]

Selfish batting from imam.

More than selfish, it's a lack of ability to actually hit big.

 

[Saj]

Selfish batting from imam.

He seemed desperate for a not out today.

 

[Naim]

Selfish batting from imam.

Denying single in last over to ka person who is batting on 15 in just 5 balls because he is near his century. Well that is criminally selfish..

 

[Ryw]

Imam played a very selfish innings for his stats, not a team man

 

[Titan24]

Umer Gul with 1/1 in 2 overs, making his experience count.

 

[saeed5646]

Hopefully akif has no serious injury looks very nasty

 

[Saj]

Hopefully akif has no serious injury looks very nasty ����

Looked a nasty one.

 

[El Generico]

Denying single in last over to ka person who is batting on 15 in just 5 balls because he is near his century. Well that is criminally selfish..

I didn’t watch the last part of the inning but this sounds bad. If I was the coach I would drop him for this. There is no logic in turning down singles in T20S especially when there is a hitter on the other end.

 

[Bewal Express]

Sindh is easily the most obese and the worst fielding side of the tournament.

I saw Sharjeel and took me a few minutes to realise that i wasnt watching a palwan getting ready for Kushti

 

[Afhan Ali]

Score of Abdul and Imam?

 

[Salman4.]

Has to be one of the worst bowling displays this by Balochistan in the later half of tonight.

 

[Saj]

Well Imam's last over drama doesn't look too good now.

 

[Saj]

Good chase that by Sindh but Balochistan were naive at times.

 

[MABA]

Hassan khan has been very impressive once again, clean hitting from him.

 

[Titan24]

Absence of Akif did make a difference.

 

[saabir]

The arrival of Azam made the huge difference. He changed the tempo of the inning and gave breathing space to Sarfraz. Hassan is a very handy batsman down the order. His bat speed is very good. He can replace imad . Only worry is Azam khan so much talent but very poor fitness. He is in the mould of Russell , pollard and Hardik Pandya when it comes to hitting sixes

 

[MenInG]

 

[Deewana Mastana]

Hassan khan has been very impressive once again, clean hitting from him.

Seems to have lost some zip in his bowling making him pretty mediocre but seems to have become a bit of a striker down the order.

Should be working on his game and try and work in the HPC with the 2 Mushtaq's to improve his bowling.

 

[The Viper]

A sparkling 51-run partnership between Sarfaraz Ahmed and Hassan Khan set a four-wicket win for Sindh against Balochistan at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in the National T20 Cup on Sunday.

The pair scored the crucial runs for the sixth-wicket from just 22 balls that took Sindh over the line with five balls to spare.

Sarfaraz, who smashed six fours and a six in his blistering 28-ball 44, and Hassan came together with Sindh needing 53 runs from 29 balls and the scorecard reading 121 for five.

Hassan continued his impressive show with the bat and returned not out on 28 that he had scored at a strike rate of 200. The 21-year-old struck a six and two fours, a day after scoring 15-ball 36 that played a crucial role in setting up Sindh’s three-wicket win over rivals Central Punjab.

Sindh’s 174-run chase got off to a wobbly start as Khurram Manzoor, their highest run-getter in the tournament, was caught behind on the second ball. His opening partner Sharjeel Khan, who made 17 off 22, followed him back to the hut on the penultimate ball of the powerplay, which reduced Sindh to 34 for two.

Asad Shafiq (30 off 24, four fours) and Azam Khan (27 off 14, two fours and two sixes) added 51 important runs for the third wicket pushed the opposition bowlers on the backfoot and denied them any further opportunities to continue to make inroads. Azam played the lead role in the partnership contributing 26 off 13 balls.

Balochistan were dealt with a blow earlier as Akif Javed had to walk off the field after slipping in his bowling stride. The left-arm quick bowled only 1.2 overs.

Amad Butt and Khurram Shehzad picked up two wickets each for 26 and 37.

Earlier, Imam-ul-Haq scored an unbeaten 60-ball 92 after Sarfaraz, the Sindh captain, elected to bowl.

Reflecting on his performance, Imam told pcb.com.pk: “It feels good when your hard work pays off. The pitch was a bit difficult to bat on earlier in the innings as the bowlers were extracting seam and bounce. My aim was to adjust myself on the crease and cash it in the latter stages.

“I thoroughly enjoyed my partnership with Abdul Wahid Bangalzai. He was playing only his second match but he has great confidence and possess all the necessary shots to thrive at this level.

“Sarfaraz Ahmed played a wonderful innings which won the match for his team. There was a time when I was thinking that we would win comfortably, but he played a blinder.”

The opening batsman’s fruitful run in the tournament continued as he registered his third half-century in six matches and 18th overall in the format. The 24-year-old smashed 11 boundaries over the course of the innings in which he stitched crucial partnerships with Abdul Wahid Bangalzai and Bismillah Khan.

Following the dismissal of Awais Zia (17 off 13) on the last ball of the fifth over, Imam and 17-year-old Abdul Wahid put a 65-run stand for the second wicket, which provided the batting side a platform to target bowlers freely in the death overs.

Abdul Wahid, who was called-up in Balochistan’s First XI team following an impressive run in the Second XI National T20 Cup, scored 32 runs from 27 balls and struck three fours and a six.

It was an unbeaten 53-run from 21 balls stand between Imam and Bismillah, who smashed two fours and a six in his six-ball 16, that saw Balochistan post 173 for three as the batting side gathered 66 runs in the last five overs.

Scores in brief

Sindh beat Balochistan by four wickets

Balochistan 173-3, 20 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 92 not out, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 32)

Sindh 174-6, 19.1 overs (Sarfaraz Ahmed 44, Asad Shafiq 30, Hassan Khan 28 not out, Azam Khan 27; Amad Butt 2-26, Khurram Shehzad 2-37)

Player of the match – Imam-ul-Haq (Balochistan) and Sarfaraz Ahmed (Sindh)

 

[Omer2002]

Winning the toss in evening match seems to be very crucial

 

[shamaan]

Absence of Akif did make a difference.

Did he get injuired

 

[Titan24]

Did he get injuired

Slipped in his delivery stride, twisted his knee and went out. Was able to walk himself so hopefully nothing too serious but I wont be surprised if Balochistan may rest him for a match or two even if thats the case.

 

[zacattakk]

Good chase that by Sindh but Balochistan were naive at times.

I am surprised no one in this thread was talking about how bad Yasir Shah bowled. Terrible stuff, and taken to the cleaners by whoever was lucky enough to face him - Azam, Asad, Sarfraz. Gave away 53 runs in his 4 overs. One of the worst bowling spells I have seen in this tournament and a major factor in Balochistan losing.