National T20 Cup | Match 29 | Northern [144/9] beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [133/7] by 11 runs

[MenInG]

Northern - Imad Wasim (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Ali Imran, Asif Ali, Farzan Raja, Haider Ali, Hammad Azam, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sohail Akhtar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Amin and Zeeshan Malik

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa - Mohammad Rizwan (captain, wicketkeeper), Junaid Khan (vice-captain), Arshad Iqbal, Asif Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imran Khan Snr, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Mohsin, Sahibzada Farhan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shoaib Malik, Usman Khan Shinwari, Wahab Riaz and Zohaib Khan.

 

[MenInG]

Northern have won the toss and batting first

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Great to see KPK not only backing Haris over multiple matches, but also giving Shaheen some rest.

Meanwhile, Northern playing their main attack for the first time I believe. Amir, Rauf, Tanvir, and Musa. Will be exciting to watch.

 

[Omer2002]

Great to see KPK not only backing Haris over multiple matches, but also giving Shaheen some rest.

Meanwhile, Northern playing their main attack for the first time I believe. Amir, Rauf, Tanvir, and Musa. Will be exciting to watch.

I think Musa will be replaced by Shadab and even nawaz will come in once the semis start tomorrow

 

[Artaxerxes]

A youngster should have been given a chance instead of uncle Malik.How are the youngsters with potential going to get any experience if they don't get a chance to play in domestic competitions?.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

I think Musa will be replaced by Shadab and even nawaz will come in once the semis start tomorrow

I think Tanvir will get the cut.

Musa was 4th leading wicket taker of the tournament after Shaheen, Rauf, and Shadab (until they rested him).

The main attack is:

Shadab
Imad
Amir
Musa
Rauf

That being said, today is the first time all the pacers are playing together.

 

[naseem]

Lets c what's in store 4 us

 

[naseem]

Haider Zeeshan gone time 4 Rohail to do something 4 him

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Shot by Rohail.

 

[Thunderbolt14]

Unnecessary slog, poor decision by the batsman.

 

[Titan24]

Other than Shadab who will come in, Northern is possibly playing their XI which they are gonna play in semis. They will have to decide between one of Amir and Tanvir.

 

[Titan24]

What a catch from Iftikhar and Junaid

 

[Ahmed216]

What an ugly slog from haider today! Makes me unsure now which way he's heading

 

[hoshiarpurexpress]

Should have been caught... poor fielding

 

[Theo_14]

What an ugly slog from haider today! Makes me unsure now which way he's heading

Too much T20 cricket will only programme him to play these kind of shots further however if maturity prevails then he will adapt to other formats accordingly. Hopefully doesn’t become another case of Umar Akmal - who we will all remember started brilliantly in the series v SL.

 

[Titan24]

What an ugly slog from haider today! Makes me unsure now which way he's heading

In T20s even some of the best batsmen in the world play wild slogs sometimes. I wont look too much into it however, I hope the way he has shown his adaptability of different formats in his first domestic season can be continued. He played 4 day cricket the way it was supposed to be played, same was the case with one day matches he played in emerging Asia Cup.

 

[shamaan]

Good to see haris given another chance even thou he failed in the first 2 games

 

[shah_1]

Rizwan is a great guy

No insecurity at all. I know 99% of players wouldn't give Haris an opportunity

 

[Titan24]

Rizwan is a great guy

No insecurity at all. I know 99% of players wouldn't give Haris an opportunity

Absolutely. Gave Haris gloves as well as opening slot.

 

[Shafi]

Both Fakhar and Sharjeel are finished and we should move on.

 

[Shafi]

Really happy Rizwan is showing big heart.
Rizwan is a good batsman and should play test only.
Azam Khan for T20
and Haris for ODI

 

[shah_1]

Really happy Rizwan is showing big heart.
Rizwan is a good batsman and should play test only.
Azam Khan for T20
and Haris for ODI

Haris lol

 

[shah_1]

I have said this many times that Imad has learned to spin the ball.

 

[Titan24]

I have said this many times that Imad has learned to spin the ball.

Yes he has in last year, year and a half or so I guess. He gives it bit of a flight to spin it and produce that variation and doubt in the mind of the batsman.

 

[shah_1]

Another wicket for Imad

 

[Titan24]

Really happy Rizwan is showing big heart.
Rizwan is a good batsman and should play test only.
Azam Khan for T20
and Haris for ODI

Rizwan averages 49 in List A cricket with a SR of 89. In limited ODIs has already scored couple of 100s against Aus, averages 33 with a SR of 89.

He is one of the best batsman in Pakistan in List A and FC cricket even if we dont consider his keeping. If we consider his keeping, he is one of the best keepers in the world.

Mohammad Haris has decent skillset but I am not seeing him or anyone replacing Rizwan anytime soon in tests or ODIs as WK unless Rizwan completely looses it or Haris or someone really sets the domestic circuit on fire.

 

[Titan24]

Decent knock from Moh Harris. Needs to carry on and try to finish it for his team.

 

[Titan24]

Thats some shot from Haris. Paddle scoop to Musa for 6

 

[Xoib]

His does Harris looks with the bat is he a slogger or an aggressive a%bat with proper stokes all around the wicket?

 

[Titan24]

His does Harris looks with the bat is he a slogger or an aggressive a%bat with proper stokes all around the wicket?

He is an aggressive batsman who plays proper strokes. I have seen him a little bit in U19 so not really sure how good he is towards cover and extra cover region but, other than that he has played shots for boundaries and singles almost everywhere in this innings.

 

[Titan24]

Its a slightly slower wicket so KPK will have to push themselves and find the right strokes to win from here.

 

[Rayyman]

Its a slightly slower wicket so KPK will have to push themselves and find the right strokes to win from here.

Yea low bounce that’s how’s Fakhar chopped on

 

[shah_1]

Rizwan averages 49 in List A cricket with a SR of 89. In limited ODIs has already scored couple of 100s against Aus, averages 33 with a SR of 89.

He is one of the best batsman in Pakistan in List A and FC cricket even if we dont consider his keeping. If we consider his keeping, he is one of the best keepers in the world.

Mohammad Haris has decent skillset but I am not seeing him or anyone replacing Rizwan anytime soon in tests or ODIs as WK unless Rizwan completely looses it or Haris or someone really sets the domestic circuit on fire.

No one replacing Rizwan in ODIs and Test cricket. Azam Khan is the best option for T20 cricket

 

[shah_1]

Haris needs to really work hard on his batting

Rizwan>>>>>>Harris in T20. Forget about ODIs and test cricket

 

[saeed5646]

Will give haris benefit of doubt but doesn't look any special to me .

 

[shamaan]

Rizwan is a great guy

No insecurity at all. I know 99% of players wouldn't give Haris an opportunity

100 percent and opened the batting with haris and given the gloves

 

[DandyFellow]

I do not know how to put it but since Haris is really young and in the start of his career I would not give him alot of slack but 79 of 70 and losing the match by 12 runs while him being not out does not give a good picture of game awareness. But at the same time no other batsmen stood up as well so it is kinda tough to criticize as welI. I feel KPK is too reliant on Hafeez and Rizwan which is surprising because Fakhar, Iftikhar and Malik are part of the national team.
Can not criticize Haris right now but I won't be surprised if he gets demoted down the order in the semi final and Rizwan opens again. If KPK has to win the next two games they will have to open with Rizwan and Fakhar with Hafeez as one down and expect Iftikhar and Musadiq to hit in the end.

 

[shamaan]

Haris needs to really work hard on his batting

Rizwan>>>>>>Harris in T20. Forget about ODIs and test cricket

He played a good innings unfortunately he didnt have any stay with him everyone was struggling

 

[Omer2002]

One thing is confirmed...Malik is finished..can just about have Hafeez in the team.

Keeper in t20s is a big dilemma..i dont think Rizwan is the right choice has to be Kami Akmal in my opinion as he is an opener....lastly Fakhar and sharjeel have hardly done anything so in a nutshell we are in a mess like we always were in mickymouse t20s

 

[Muhammad Saad]

You can't expect Haris to come in and blaze away the opposition , he played a handy knock and he proves that he can play in the 1st Xi.

 

[shamaan]

Will give haris benefit of doubt but doesn't look any special to me .

Haris is a good player he needs to work on playing down the ground but some of the shots he played was really impressive and plays spin decently well

 

[shamaan]

You can't expect Haris to come in and blaze away the opposition , he played a handy knock and he proves that he can play in the 1st Xi.

100 percent people dont realise hes 19 he was the highest score in the match all he did was 1 percent to stay with him

 

[shamaan]

One thing is confirmed...Malik is finished..can just about have Hafeez in the team.

Keeper in t20s is a big dilemma..i dont think Rizwan is the right choice has to be Kami Akmal in my opinion as he is an opener....lastly Fakhar and sharjeel have hardly done anything so in a nutshell we are in a mess like we always were in mickymouse t20s

Definitely malik is finished but people will stil blame haris for today's performance how many chances has he had this tournament.

 

[shamaan]

Haris needs to really work hard on his batting

Rizwan>>>>>>Harris in T20. Forget about ODIs and test cricket

Haris played a good innings il blame the other bateman that they couldn't stay at the wicket he needs to learn how to hit down the ground but some of the shots behind the wicket was top notch we should criticise malik what's he done this tournament !

 

[shah_1]

Haris played a good innings il blame the other bateman that they couldn't stay at the wicket he needs to learn how to hit down the ground but some of the shots behind the wicket was top notch we should criticise malik what's he done this tournament !

Not blaming him but talking about his overall game. He needs to play big shots from long on to deep mid wicket, it would be even better if he can play toward deep cover and deep extra cover

 

[Abdullah719]

Haris made 79* off 70 and the other batsmen in his side, most of whom are at least a decade older than him, made 44 off 50 balls while losing 7 wickets

 

[Titan24]

Haris made 79* off 70 and the other batsmen in his side, most of whom are at least a decade older than him, made 44 off 50 balls while losing 7 wickets

Definitely pretty odd from the seniors. Wicket was definitely on a slightly slower side but one expects the experience to come in during these situations.

 

[shamaan]

Not blaming him but talking about his overall game. He needs to play big shots from long on to deep mid wicket, it would be even better if he can play toward deep cover and deep extra cover

He will learn he was batting against arguably the best attack in the league some of the shots behind the wicket none of our
players could do that only rohail has done it. I would drop malik he has been super poor

 

[Ahson8]

Cant believe some of the comments here, Haris played a fantastic knock especially when you consider what the rest of the batsmen did. The next highest score was 11. He literally kept them in the chase singlehandedly.

Secondly, he played some sensational ABesque ramp shots at the death vs Amir and Rauf, playing those kind of shots against those bowlers is no joke, and when you factor in that he is only 19 years old, it makes it even more impressive.

Pakistanis are the worst at identifying talent man.

 

[Ahson8]

He will learn he was batting against arguably the best attack in the league some of the shots behind the wicket none of our
players could do that only rohail has done it. I would drop malik he has been super poor

Finally someone with a sensible comment.

The shots he played were SPECIAL.

 

[Titan24]

One thing which we fans usually overlook are the pitch and conditions. Haris should have ideally won it but, ball wasnt coming onto the bat on the wicket which was in use as good as some other surfaces we have seen. Other than Imad nobody was able to bat at a SR of 150+ for more than 10 balls and Imad with his 36 was the 2nd highest scorer of the match.

Not defending Moh Harris but, just providing the context to the innings. He is just 19-20 and would have possibly deserved criticism if it was a fast surface where others would have scored good runs at a high SR but, cant really criticize him much here in my opinion. He tried and hung around when everyone else was struggling.

 

[MenInG]

Rawalpindi, 16 October 2020:

Wahab Riaz took five wickets while young wicketkeeper batsman Mohammad Haris posted his maiden T20 half-century but their combined effort went in vain as Northern recorded a thrilling 11 runs over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the 29th match of the National T20 Cup for First XI teams played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Friday afternoon.

Northern finished the league stage at the top of the six-team points table with 16 points from 10 matches (Eight wins, two defeats). They will play the fourth placed side in the first semi-final of the tournament tomorrow, their opponents will be determined at the end of the Southern Punjab-Balochistan clash tonight.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa needed 21 runs in the final over which was bowled by the experienced Sohail Tanvir, they could only make nine runs.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa started their 145-run chase positively as openers Fakhar Zaman and Haris added 48 runs in 7.2 overs. Fakhar was bowled by Musa Khan for 11. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Mohammad Rizwan was dismissed by his opposite number Imad Wasim for nine. Imad took another big wicket when he sent back the experienced Shoaib Malik for six runs.

Iftikhar Ahmed was dismissed by pacer Haris Rauf for 10 runs. Musadiq Ahmed, Wahab Riaz and Asif Afridi also fell cheaply in the hunt of quick runs as the asking rate kept mounting for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Haris who represented Pakistan in the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup earlier this year scored a composed unbeaten 79 punctuated with nine fours and one six. The right-hander who was appearing in merely his third T20 match showed glimpses of his talent, pedigree and range of shots in his innings which held the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa innings together. Despite his heroic effort, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa failed to get over the line.

Man-of-the-match Haris Rauf took three more wickets to take his tournament tally to 17 wickets, this was his third man-of-the-match award in the tournament, Imad took two wickets for 25 runs.

Reflecting on his performance, man-of-the-match Haris Rauf said: “I want to thank the Almighty first; throughout the event I have been able to bowl well. I was trying to bowl according to the pitches both in Multan and Rawalpindi and I am happy that I have been able to achieve sustained success. I tried to bowl some variations today as the pitch offered something to the bowlers. I hope to continue my bowling form in the coming games.”

Northern won the toss and opted to bat first. The decision backfired as Northern lost their first six wickets in 15.5 overs with only 99 runs on the board. Their in-form top order was sent packing early, Ali Imran (8), Zeeshan Malik (21) and Haider Ali (7) failed to impress. Wahab Riaz dismissed Imran and Haider in a fiery opening burst.

Wicketkeeper batsman Rohail Nazir also had a poor outing with the bat as he fell for six while birthday boy Umar Amin made 21 off 23 balls before falling to Asif Afridi.

Asif Ali was dismissed by Wahab for 19 off 22 balls (two fours). Imad played a captain’s innings at this stage to take his team to a competitive total. The left-hander hit six fours in his 36 that came off 20 balls.

Northern were restricted to 144 f0r nine in their 20 overs with Wahab returning brilliant figures of five for 21, this was the third five-wicket haul of the seasoned left-armer’s 261-match T20 career.

Scores in brief

Northern 144-9, 20 overs (Imad Wasim 36, Zeeshan Malik 21, Umar Amin 21; Wahab Riaz 5-21)

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 133-7, 20 overs (Mohammad Haris 79 not out; Haris Rauf 3-28, Imad Wasim 2-25)

Result – Northern won by 11 runs

Man-of-the-match – Haris Rauf (Northern)

Saturday’s fixtures (semi-finals):

1500 PST – Team 1 v Team 4. Asif Yaqoob and Rashid Riaz (on-field umpires), Imtiaz Iqbal (third umpire), Imran Jawed (fourth umpire); Mohammad Javed (match referee)

1930 PST – Team 2 v Team 3. Ahsan Raza and Shozab Raza (on-field umpires), Ghaffar Kazmi (third umpire), Saqib Khan (fourth umpire); Ali Naqvi (match referee)

 

[DandyFellow]

Everybody is defending Harris and rightfully so. He has all the potential to be a good batsmen for the national team but he is young and inexperienced. Due to that, you can expect him to bat down the order in the semi final because that will be beneficial for the team. He would have been dropped if he had failed today. In any case he got his three games and he showed his talent and will hopefully play first class games this season for first XI.

 

[naseem]

Most young players need proper first class experience both batsman and bowler.
Haris has potential and age by his side.....
Rizwan is here to stay......

Haider is more than ready although he should play first class ahead of BBL.....and other Micky mouse t20s and t10s

 

[shamaan]

Finally someone with a sensible comment.

The shots he played were SPECIAL.

100 percent no player from pakistan can play them shots