Sports Bulletin

Abdullah Asjad ISLAMABAD:-Balochistan overcame Northern by two wickets in their opening round match of Pakistan Cup at the Diamond cricket ground Islamabad. Balochistan beat Northern by 2 wickets At the House of Northern in Islamabad, Northern’s Umar Amin century went in vain as Balochistan achieved the 276-run target in the last over of the match for the loss of eight wickets. Chasing 276 for win, Wicketkeeper-batter Bismillah Khan struck five fours and as many sixes in his 58-ball 84 runs innings. Bismillah was equally supported by Haseebullah (40 off 59, four fours, one six), Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (39 off 40, five fours, one six) and Amad Butt (31 off 39, one four, one six). For Northern, left-arm spinner Imad Wasim grabbed three wickets for 58. Earlier, after being put into bat, Northern scored 275 for eight in 50 overs. Opening batter Umar scored a 124-ball 116, hitting 10 fours and four sixes. Mubasir Khan coming to bat at number seven scored a quick-fire 43 off 32. The right-handed batter struck four fours and two sixes. For Balochistan, left-arm pacer Akif Javed picked five wickets for 60 runs in his 10 overs. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Central Punjab by 5 wickets After being put into bat, Central Punjab managed to score 215 for nine in their allotted 50 overs. Test opener top-scored with a 60-ball 37, hitting one four and two sixes. For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mehran Mumtaz and captain Khalid Usman picked three wickets apiece. In return, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa achieved the target in the 43rd over for the loss of five wickets. After the early departure of Sahibzada Farhan for nine, Waqar Ahmed was joined by Kamran Ghulam. The pair added 113 runs for the second wicket. Waqar top-scored with a 73-ball 68, which included 10 fours and one six. Kamran scored 56 off 62 balls, striking five fours and two sixes. Mehran returned unbeaten on 29 off 43 balls, while Adil Amin contributed 28 off 29 balls, hitting two fours and a six. For Central Punjab, leg-spinner Usman Qadir bagged two wickets for 60.

Ali Ahmed LAHORE:-The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has handed out 100 contracts to junior cricketers between 13 and 19 years age bracket as part of PCB’s Junior Development Programme. Alongside the financial support, the PCB will be investing in these youngsters to develop their complete personality, including cricketing skills and providing education to them. With the contracts coming into effect the 100 contracted players will be earning monthly retainers of PKR 30,000 each. Under-19 players for junior contracts: Aaliyan Mehmood (Sindh), Abbas Ali (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Abdul Faseeh (Northern), Abdul Rehman (Sindh), Adeel Meo (Sindh), Adil Naz (Northern), Afaq Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Ahmed Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Ali Asfand (Central Punjab), Arafat Ahmed (Southern Punjab), Arham Nawab (Central Punjab), Asif Ali (Sindh), Aun Shehzad (Southern Punjab), Aurangzaib (Balochistan), Awais Abbas (Southern Punjab), Awais Ali (Central Punjab), Azan Awais (Central Punjab), Basit Ali (Balochistan), Ch Shujah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Faisal Akram (Southern Punjab), Ghazi Ghori (Sindh), Habibullah (Sindh), Hafiz Usman Nadeem (Central Punjab), Haseebullah (Balochistan), Hasnat Abbas (Central Punjab), Husnain Majid (Southern Punjab), Irfan Khan Niazi (Central Punjab), Jahandad Khan (Northern), Kabir Raj (Balochistan), Kashif Ali (Sindh), Khawaja Mohammad Hafeez (Sindh), Maaz Sadaqat (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mehran Mumtaz (Northern), Mohammad Danish (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Ismail (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Shehzad (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Umar (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Waqas (Central Punjab), Mohammad Zahid (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Zeeshan (Central Punjab), Mubashir Nawaz (Sindh), Rizwan Ahmed (Balochistan), Rizwan Mehmood (Sindh), Sajjad Ali (Balochistan), Shahwaiz Irfan Ullah (Central Punjab), Shamraiz Khan (Balochistan), Shamyl Hussain (Northern), Wahaj Riaz (Sindh), Zeeshan Zameer (Sindh) and Zubair Shinwari (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Special talent - nominated category: Ali Raza (Central Punjab U16), Faizan Saleem (Northern U19), Farhan Yousaf (Central Punjab U16), Ibrar Afzal (Central Punjab), Momin Qamar (Central Punjab U16), Muneeb Wasif (Central Punjab U19), Raza Ul Mustafa (Northern U19), Tahir Hussain (Southern Punjab U19), Talha Ihsan (Sindh U19) and Usman Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U16) Under-16 players for junior contracts: Adeel Mushtaq (Southern Punjab Blues), Adil Waheed (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Afkar Durrani (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Ahmed Hussain (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Blues), Ali Hamza (Central Punjab), Ali Hasnain Badshah (Southern Punjab), Ali Hassan Baloch (Central Punjab), Amir Hassan (Northern), Awais Raheem (Sindh), Haroon Arshad (Sindh), Inamullah (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Ansarullah (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Haroon (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Nabeel (Northern), Mohammad Shoaib (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Mohammad Tayyab Arif (Central Punjab Whites), Mohammad Usman (Central Punjab), Mohammad Zubair (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Riazullah Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Saad Masood (Northern), Salman Ahmed (Southern Punjab), Shahmir Nisar Khan (Northern), Ubaid Shahid (Central Punjab), Usman Ghani (Balochistan) and Yahya Shah (Sindh) Under-13 players for junior contracts Abdul Rehman (Southern Punjab), Ahsan Khan (Sindh), Akbar Ali (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Faizan Riasat (Southern Punjab), Hasnain Abbas (Central Punjab), Junaid Khan Khalil (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa), Khan Wali (Balochistan), Maaz Ahmed (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Ali Sabir (Central Punjab), Mohammad Azan (Sindh), Mohammad Sohaib (Northern), Mohammad Umar (Southern Punjab), Mohammad Yousaf (Northern), Taj Mohammad (Central Punjab) and Zain Ul Abideen (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa) Players already having a domestic contract (will become part of this program, in addition to 100 players) Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (Balochistan), Mohammad Huraira (Central Punjab), Mubasir Khan (Northern), Qasim Akram (Central Punjab) and Saim Ayub (Sindh)