Rawalpindi
Sohaib Maqsood blasted 81 off 29 balls to seal a dramatic win for Southern Punjab and the last semi-final spot in the final group match of the National T20 Cup for the First XIs, played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.
Southern Punjab, who had languished at the bottom of the points table for the most part of the tournament, had to chase 162 runs within 12.3 overs to progress to the next round. They ended up plundering 166 at the loss of three wickets in just 10.4 overs against Balochistan, which along with eliminating the Haris Sohail-led unit dashed Central Punjab’s hopes of qualifying for the next round.
That the herculean task was turned into a cakewalk was because of Sohaib, who was sent to open the innings with wicketkeeper-batsman Zeeshan Ashraf and smashed 13 fours and four sixes.
The pair provided the run chase a profound start with a blistering 87-run alliance from just 5.3 overs. They made their intentions clear from the onset as the gathered 14 runs from the first over bowled by Umar Gul, who was making his final appearance in competitive cricket, before adding 20 more to their total in the next over bowled by Taj Wali.
The sparkling opening stand ended with Zeeshan’s dismissal as he was caught by Taj Wali off Amad Butt after scoring a quickfire 10-ball 21.
The dismissal, however, did not dent the scoring rate as Southern Punjab added 17 more in the next six balls. On the seventh delivery, Sohaib joined his opening partner back in the pavilion after he had gathered 81 runs at a staggering strike rate of just under 280 and set the tone for the heroic run chase.—APP
