FAISALABAD – Abbottabad and Multan reached the the National T20 Cup Semis by beating Lahore Whites and Karachi Whites, respectively on Sunday night here at the Iqbal Stadium.
In the first quarter-final, Abbottabad overcame Lahore Whites on the back of Kamran Ghulam’s unbeaten half-century (58 not out), which helped them knock down the 131-run target in 17.5 overs.
After opting to field first, Abbottabad bagged two early wickets after which Lahore Whites’ skipper Muhammad Akhlaq steered the innings with a 49-ball 59.
After Akhlaq’s departure in the 17th over at 96-5, Kamran Afzal (25 not out) and Mohammad Azeem Dar (19 not out) stitched a 34-run unbeaten stand to help their team notch a fighting total. Abbottabad’s Khalid Usman picked up two wickets for 15 runs.
In turn, player of the match Kamran kept the Abbottabad innings intact after walking in at 12-1, jotting a 54-run second-wicket stand with Shahzaib Khan (28) and a 49-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Afaq Ahmed (31) to take the team over the line.
In the second, quarter-final Multan successfully defended their 155-run total as they edged out the defending champions Karachi Whites by seven runs to secure a semi-final spot.
After Multan won the toss and elected to bat first, opening batter Zeeshan Ashraf headlined their batting effort with a sublime 60 off 34 balls hitting nine fours and three sixes before departing in the 10th over.
Muhammad Shahzad (36), who walked in at 81-3, stitched a 24-run stand with Arafat Minhas (13) and then a valuable 37-run partnership with Humayun Altaf (17), which pushed Multan past the 150-run mark.
In turn, Karachi lost their first three wickets for just 18 runs in 4.5 overs before Haroon Arshad (42) and Mohammad Taha (36) rebuilt the innings with a 79-run stand. Saad Baig, who walked in at 98-5, struck a 19-ball 25 but in vain as they fell seven runs short.
For Multan, pacer Mohammad Ismail was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4-0-34-3, while Faisal Akram picked up two wickets. Wasim Akram Jnr, Ali Majid and Arafat Minhas dismissed one batter each.
