Karachi, 27 November 2023: The fourth day of the AH Group Presents Jazz Super 4G National T20 Cup 2023-24 saw eight action-packed games played across four venues in Karachi. Group A witnessed Lahore Whites and Peshawar win while Group B saw results in favor of Lahore Blues and Islamabad. Owing to their wins today, Rawalpindi and Abbottabad from Group C have progressed to Super Eight stage. For Group D, FATA, despite their loss against Multan today, alongside Sialkot have also qualified for the Super Eight stage.
Group A
At National Bank Stadium, Ahmed Shehzad (81, 44b, 10x4s, 4x6s) and Muhammad Akhlaq (44 not out, 24b, 5x4s, 2x6s) unleashed a fierce batting onslaught to take Lahore Whites to a nine-wicket victory over Quetta as the side chased the target in 12 overs. Earlier, Quetta had scored 132-5 in 20 overs, with Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (79, 63b, 4x4s, 4x6s) scoring a bulk of the total.
Fireworks by Sahibzada Farhan (107 not out, 54b, 15x4s, 4x6s), Iftikhar Ahmed (76 not out, 31b, 8x4s, 4x6s) and Aamer Azmat (44, 27b, 3x4s, 3x6s) took Peshawar to a mammoth total of 248-2 – the highest in the history of National T20 Cup – in the first innings. In turn, Larkana could only manage to get 122-7 in the allotted overs, losing by a huge margin of 126 runs, with all of Peshawar bowlers returning with at least a wicket each.
Group B
Lahore Blues defeated Dera Murad Jamali by five wickets at UBL Sports Complex after Rizwan Hussain (45, 39b, 1x4, 3x6s) and Hussain Talat (43, 35b, 4x4s, 1x6) helped chase the target in the last over. Earlier, DM Jamali had been restricted to 139-9 in 20 overs, with Asfand Mehran getting a three-wicket haul.
Mohammad Suleman’s (62, 56b, 6x4s) half-century went in vain as Hyderabad lost against Islamabad by 10 runs. Sarmad Bhatti’s (56 not out, 36b, 4x4s, 2x6s) unbeaten half-century took Islamabad to 153-5 in the first innings. In turn, Hyderabad could only make 143-7, with Haris Rauf and Umair Afridi returning with three wickets each.
Group C
Zeeshan Malik (57 not out, 22b, 6x4s, 4x6s), Yasir Khan (55, 36b, 5x4s, 3x6s), Rehman Khan (52, 52b, 7x4s) and Haider Ali (36, 13b, 2x4s, 4x6s) took Rawalpindi to a formidable total of 232-3 against Bahawalpur at HPC Oval Ground. Aun Shehzad (76, 47b, 12x4s) and Mohammad Shahid (43, 35b, 5x4s, 2x6s) brought Bahawalpur close to the target, however, the team could only manage 195-7 in the completed 20 overs, losing by 37 runs.
Abbottabad defeated Faisalabad by six wickets as Kamran Ghulam (62 not out, 43b, 5x4s, 2x6s) helped the team cruise to 144 in 18.3 overs with six wickets to spare. Earlier, Faisalabad had been dismissed for 143 in 20 overs, with Adil Naz and Shahab Khan getting two wickets each.
Group D
Multan narrowly beat FATA at NBP Sports Complex as the latter fell four runs short of the target while chasing 154. A half-century by Sharoon Siraj (56, 33b, 5x4s, 3x6s) and a 45-ball-44 by Zain Abbas took the team to 153-5 in the first innings, which was subsequently defended by the Multan bowlers in the latter half of the game.
Sialkot cruised to a nine-wicket win after dismissing AJK for just 59 in 18.2 overs on the back of a four-wicket haul by Usman Khalid. It took Sialkot just six overs to complete the target, courtesy of fiery batting by Amad Butt (27 not out, 13b, 2x4s, 2x6s) and Mirza Tahir Baig (27 not out, 19b, 4x4s, 1x6).
Scores in brief:
Group A
Lahore Whites beat Quetta by nine wickets at National Bank Stadium
Quetta 132-5, 20 overs (Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 79, Salahuddin 22; Mohammad Irfan 2-18, Mohammad Amir Khan 2-28)
Lahore Whites 135-1, 12 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 81, Muhammad Akhlaq 44 not out; Hanan Achakzai 1-23)
Peshawar beat Larkana by 126 runs at National Bank Stadium
Peshawar 248-2, 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 109 not out, Iftikhar Ahmed 76 not out, Aamer Azmat 44; Zahid Mehmood 1-35, Imtiaz Legari 1-51)
Larkana 122-7, 20 overs (Umar Khalid 33, Ghulam Raza 20; Mohammad Imran 2-15, Iftikhar Ahmed 2-35, Azam Khan 1-12, Mohammad Abbas Afridi 1-29, Imran Khan Snr 1-31)
Group B
Lahore Blues beat DM Jamali by five wickets at UBL Sports Complex
DM Jamali 139-9, 20 overs (Nasir Khan 30, Shoaib Ahmed 25; Asfand Mehram 3-24, Hussain Talat 1-16, Kashif Bhatti 1-16, Umaid Asif 1-19, Qasim Akram 1-24)
Lahore Blues 142-5, 19.3 overs (Rizwan Hussain 45, Hussain Talat 43; Nasir Khan 2-16, Fahad Hussain 1-16, Zahoor Ahmed 1-20, Hidayatullah 1-36)
Islamabad beat Hyderabad by 10 runs at UBL Sports Complex
Islamabad 153-3, 20 overs (Sarmad Bhatti 56 not out, Hammad Siddique 27 not out, Ali Imran 25; Asad Malik 1-17, Daniyal Hussain Rajput 1-20, Mustafa Nasir 1-34)
Hyderabad 143-7, 20 overs (Mohammad Suleman 62, Tayyab Ali Shah 31; Umair Afridi 3-22, Haris Raif 3-29)
Group C
Rawalpindi beat Bahawalpur by 37 runs at HPC Oval Ground
Rawalpindi 232-3, 20 overs (Zeeshan Malik 57 not out, Yasir Khan 55, Rehman Khan 52, Haider Ali 36; Gulfam Aziz 2-54, Aun Shehzad 1-45)
Bahawalpur 195-7, 20 overs (Aun Shehzad 76, Moinuddin 55, Mohammad Shahid 43; Shiraz Khan 2-38, Jahandad Khan 2-42, Zaman Khan 2-50, Mehran Mumtaz 1-31)
Abbottabad beat Faisalabad by six wickets at HPC Oval Ground
Faisalabad 143 all out, 20 overs (Abdul Samad 47, Muhammad Irfan Khan 33, Asif Ali 21; Shahab Khan 2-22, Adil Naz 2-23, Kamran Ghulam 1-14, Yasir Shah 1-35)
Abbottabad 144-4, 18.3 overs (Kamran Ghulam 62 not out, Mohammad Arif 24, Shahab Khan 22 not out; Sadaqat Ali 2-17, Waqas Maqsood 1-24, Asad Raza 1-40)
Group D
Multan beat FATA by three runs at NBP Sports Complex
Multan 153-5, 20 overs (Sharoon Siraj 56, Zain Abbas 44; Akif Javed 2-21, Asif Afridi 1-21, Irfanullah Shah 1-26, Azaz Khan 1-29)
FATA 150-7, 20 overs (Samiullah Jnr 47, Shahid Aziz 27 not out; Tahir Hussain 2-27, Aamer Yamin 2-36, Ali Majid 1-11, Sirajuddin 1-45)
Sialkot beat AJK by nine wickets at NBP Sports Complex
AJK 59 all out, 18.2 overs (Naveed Malik 24; Usman Khalid 4-13, Usama Mir 2-12, Mohammad Abbas 1-10, Bilal Asif 1-15)
