Sports Bulletin Report
ISLAMABAD:-Lahore outclassed Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK) by 9 wickets in the final of National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) T-20 Blind Cricket Trophy at Bhutto Shaheed Cricket Ground G-7 Islamabad on Monday. Matiullah got man of the match award.
In the morning, Lahore won the toss and put AJK into bat. Apparently, the decision didn’t go in Lahore's favor as AJK put a mammoth total on the board. AJK made 262 runs for the loss of 1 wicket in the allotted 20 overs. Nisar Ali made 126 runs off 59 balls featuring 21 (4s) and 1 six and Faisal Mehmood made 81 runs off 41 balls. Imran Mughal took 1 wicket.
Lahore in reply played exceptionally well and chased the huge target in just 17.5 overs for the loss of 1 wicket. Matiullah was the top scorer with 111 runs off 50 balls featuring 19 (4’s) and 1 six, whereas Kamran Akhtar made 78 runs off 39 balls and Mohammad Salman played a brisk inning of 50 runs off 18 balls. Habib Taj was the only bowler to claim a wicket.
Shoaib Qasirani (Head of Business Analytics NBP), Syed Sultan Shah (Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council), Syed Salman Bokhari (Director Cricket Operations PBCC), Anwar Ali (Director Finance PBCC), Mohammad Bilal (President ICCB) were the guests and distributed prizes amongst the players.
Player of the Tournament:
B1: Riasat Khan (Abottabad)
B2: Anees Javed (Islamabad)
B3: Mohsin Khan (Peshawar)
Best Wicket Keeper: Zahid Mehmood (Islamabad)
On Sunday, in the first semifinal AJK beat Islamabad by 19 runs at the same venue. AJK won the toss and decided to bat first. Openers Faisal Mehmood and Nisar Ali toiled the strong bowling of Islamabad and both knitted 197 runs for the 1st wicket partnership. AJK made 222 runs on the board for the loss of 5 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Faisal Mehmood was the top scorer with 93 runs off 54 balls and Nisar Ali made 91 runs off 59 balls. Anees Javed was the only bowler to claim a wicket.
In reply, Islamabad was well on the course to chase the target till the 12th over, but Anees Javed’s wicket opened the opportunity to AJK and they grabbed it with both hands. Shahzeb Haider tried his best in a fighting inning of 98 runs off 66 runs but Islamabad was restricted to 203 runs in 20 overs for the loss of 8 wickets. Anees Javed was the 2nd best scorer with 50 runs off 30 balls. Muhammad was the pick amongst the bowler with 2 wickets to his name. Faisal Mehmood was judged man of match.
Later, in the second semifinal, Lahore beat Bahawalpur by 54 runs Bhutto Shaheed Cricket Ground. Bahawalpur won the toss and put Lahore into bat. Lahore got off to a flyer, as their openers Matiullah and Kamran Akhtar took advantage of fielding restrictions and scored 82 runs in the first 6 overs. They both got out in the 8th over a total score of 98 runs, Matiullah and Kamran scored 35 and 46 runs respectively. Then Muhammad Salman and Sanwal Shahzada took charge and scored freely, both were dismissed on 44 and 49 runs respectively. Lahore posted a huge total of 243 runs on the board for the loss of 8 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Sajid Nawaz took 2 wickets, while Saqib and Ejaz claimed a wicket apiece.
In reply, Bahawalpur got the big jolt in the first over, when their most dependant batsman Muhammad Rashid was bowled by Matiullah on just 1 run. Moeen Ali and Zafar Iqbal weren’t impressive either, they both fell cheaply. Lahore tightened the grip with clinical bowling and fielding and restricted Bahawalpur to 189 runs, Bahawalpur was bowled out in 19.4 overs. Kamran Akhtar claimed two wickets, while Matiullah, Karamat and Rizwan claimed a wicket apiece. Man of the match awarded was declared Kamran Akhtar.
