By Abdul Jabbar Faisal
RAWALPINDI: Karachi Blues and FATA Region scored exciting wins in the qualifying round of the National Twenty20 Cup Cricket Tournament at Pindi Cricket Stadium here on Friday. In the first fixture of the day, Karachi Blues had to work hard to overcome Bahawalpur by three runs in a thrilling contest. Karachi set 169 runs target for their rivals with sparking innings from Shahzaib Hasan (63) who faced 35 balls and hit three sixes and six fours. Fawad Alam played an impressive innings of 55 not out runs after facing 43 deliveries with four boundaries and a six. Zahid Siddique captured two wickets while Moinuddin chipped in with a solitary wicket. In reply, Bahawalpur could manage only 165 for the loss of 5 wickets in their allotted 20 overs. An 81-run innings by Mohammad Yasir was not able to save his team from defeat. He faced 53 balls and hit three sixes and six fours during his marvelous batting for Bahawalpur. Abdul Ameer got three wickets conceding 42 runs. Shahzab won the man of the match award.
Brief scores
Karachi Blues: 168-3 in 20 overs (Shahzaib Hasan 63, 6x4s, 3x6s, 35 balls, Fawad Alam 55*, 4x4s, 1×6, 43 balls, Asad Shafiq 25*, 3x4s, 22 balls, Zahid Siddique 2-31, Moinuddin 1-26) VS Bahawalpur Region: 165-5 in 20 overs (Mohammad Yasir 81, 11x4s, 1×6, 53 balls, Shahan Akram 21, 2x4s, 12 balls, Kamran Hussain 11, 1×4, 1×6, 7 balls, Abdul Ameer 3-42, Ruman Raees 2-20)
Man of the Match: Shahzaib Hasan (Karachi Blues)
Result: Karachi Blues won by 3 runs
Toss: Bahawalpur Region
Umpires: Ahsan Raza &
Saqib Khan
TV Umpires: Ahmed Shahab
Referee: Ishtiaq Ahmed
Scorer: Adnan Farooq
Asad steers FATA to win over DM Jamali: A brilliant 36-ball 49-run knock by Asad Afridi guided FATA Region to a splendid 6 wickets win over DM Jamali Region. Elected to bat first after winning the toss, DM Jamali were dismissed on 111 in 19.2 with Abid Ali and Nasir Khan being the main contributors, scoring 25 and 23 runs respectively. In reply, FATA raced home in 17.3 overs due to aggressive batting of man-of-the-match Asad. His 49 runs included two towering sixes and four boundaries. Khushdil Shah was another main contributor for FATA, who made 36 runs off 37 balls. Mohammad Sarwar and Sohrab Khan took two wickets apiece while Asif Afridi and Khushdil grabbed a scalp each.
Brief scores:
DM Jamali Region 111 in 19.2 overs (Abid Ali 25, 3x4s, 30 balls, Nasir Khan 23, 2x4s, 26 balls, Muhammad Sarwar 2-16, Sohrab Khan 2-24, Asif Afridi 1-10, Khushdil 1-15) VS Fata Region 112-4 in 17.3 overs (Asad Afridi 49, 2x4s, 4x6s, 36 balls, Khushdil Shah 36, 2x4s, 1×6, 37 balls, Muhammad Asim 2-16, Shabbir Ali 1-24)
Man of the Match: Asad Afridi (FATA Region)
Result: Fata Region won by 6 wickets
Toss: DM Jamali Region
Umpires: Shozeb Raza & Rashid Riaz
TV Umpires: Ahsan Raza
Referee: Musaddaq Rasool
Scorer: Adnan Farooq