By Shakeel Ahmed
Rawalpindi: Haider Ali smashed 86 runs off 50 balls to once again lay down a solid foundation for Northern to beat Baluchistan by 39 runs in National T20 Cup.
It were bowlers who successfully did their job and helped Northern restrict the opponents to 160-8 and retain the top spot on the points table.
While batting first after winning the toss, Northern got a strong start with their openers scoring 92 runs within nine overs. Ali Imran made 41 runs off 22 balls with the help of four boundaries and three sixes while young Haider struck eight boundaries and five sixes to score 86 and support his partner.
Later on, Baluchistan made comeback by bagging both openers and Sohail Akhtar and Asif Ali in quick successions. But, Shadab Khan scored 42 off 27 balls with four boundaries in his account and also partnered with Hammad Azam to score 44 runs for a fifth-wicket partnership. Hammad scored 19 with the help of three boundaries.
Amad Butt bagged two wickets for 29 runs while Taj Wali, Akhtar Shah, and Haris Sohail shared a wicket apiece.
In reply, Imam-ul-Haq and Awais Zia provided a 69-runs opening start to Baluchistan but they couldn’t continue the chase successfully after the loss of their openers. Imam went for a run-out after scoring 35 runs off 21 balls while Awais was caught off Shadab after scoring 34 runs off 27 balls. He struck two boundaries and as many sixes.
Haris Sohail played 19 balls to score 28 runs with the help of five boundaries. Abdul Wahid Bangalzai made 12 while Akbar-ur-Rehman and Kashif Bhatti scored 15 and 14 respectively.
Mohammad Ismail and Shadab Khan bagged two wickets each while Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Amir, and Ali Imran took a wicket each.
