Abdul Jabbar Faisal
ISLAMABAD: Islamabad PD trounced Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) PD by 8 wickets and Abbottabad PD outplayed Rawalpindi PD by 5 wickets in the 8th National Physical Disability T20 Cricket Championship 2023 at Bhutto cricket ground here on Monday. Also, the winners confirmed their berths in Round II.
In the first game of the day, Islamabad PD easily ousted AJK PD by 8 wickets. AJK batted first and in 18.4 overs the entire team was bundled out for 90 runs. Ahmed Majeed was outstanding by scoring 26 runs. Sajjad Hussain, Sakhid Khan and Waqif Shah took two wickets each. Captain and wicket keeper Usman Paracha hunted 3 players behind the wickets.
In response, Islamabad achieved the required target of 92 runs for 2 wickets in 12 overs. Captain Usman Paracha hit 4 fours and made 32 runs not out. Adil Abbasi scored 23 runs and Usman Ghani scored 21 runs. Usman Pracha was judged best player of the match on his sparking performance with the bat and that was key in his team’s victory.
At the end of the match, chief guest, Deputy Director of Navy, Khaleeq Khan, gave a cash award of 1000 rupees along with “Man of the Match” trophy to Usman Pracha. General Secretary Pakistan Physical Disable Crocket Association (PPDCA) and Tournament Director Amiruddin Ansari, Regional Head Raja Mohammad Tahir and Javed Ashraf were also present on this occasion.
Later, in the second fixture of the day, Abbottabad PD beat Rawalpindi PD by 5 wickets and qualified for the next stage. Rawalpindi PD batted first and scored 145 runs for the loss of 6 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Bilal Azim scored 49 runs with the help of 5 fours and one six while batting well while Mohammad Arsalan also scored 40 runs with the help of 5 fours and one six. Aftab Hussain bowled well and got 4 wickets for just 11 runs.
In reply, Abbottabad PD reached at the target after scoring 149 runs for 5 wickets. All-rounder Aftab Hussain hit 6 fours in a brilliant half-century of 51 runs, Rizwanullah smashed 3 fours and a six in 44 runs not out. Qayyum Khan took 3 wickets.
At the end of the match, Regional Head Javed Ashraf gave Aftab Hussain a cash award of Rs. 1000. In the second phase on Tuesday, Lahore will face Abbottabad at 9 am, while Islamabad will face Peshawar at 1:30 pm at the same venue.
