Abdul Jabbar Faisal & Abdullah Asjad
ISLAMABAD:-Islamabad, Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK), Bahawalpur and Lahore have won their matches on the opening day of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) T-20 Blind Cricket Trophy (Grade-1) after beating their respective opponents here at two different venues on Thursday.
Earlier, Fawad Mohsin (National Business Head North NBP) inaugurated the event. Syed Sultan Shah (Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council), Shoaib Qasirani (Head of Business Analytics NBP), Syed Salman Bokhari (Director Cricket Operations PBCC), and Mohammad Bilal (Director Marketing PBCC) were also the other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
Addressing at the occasion, Chairman PBCC thanked the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) for the continued support for the last 12 years to host this event and said that this event will be helpful in finding the new talent for Pakistan Cricket.
Match-1:
Islamabad beat Gujranwala by 115 runs at Bhutto Cricket Ground:
Anees Javed’s superb unbeaten innings of 135 runs helped Islamabad to overcome Gujranwala by a huge margin of 115 runs.
Islamabad, put into bat by Gujranwala, made 227 runs in the allotted 20 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. Anees Javed shined with the bat and hit 15 fours and 2 sixes in 72 balls innings of 135 runs. Shahzeb Haider with 39 runs was the second highest run-getter. Tayyab Rehmani and Mohammad Arif obtained a wicket apiece.
In reply, Gujranwala chasing 228, was all out on just 112 runs in 17.3 overs. Talha Iqbal was their top scorer with 33 runs. Anees Javed, Shahzeb Haider, Yasir Malik, and Syed Kashan took 2 wickets each for Islamabad.
Result: Islamabad won by 115 runs
Man of the Match: Anees Javed
Match-2:
AJK beat Peshawar by 4 wickets at PAF Cricket Ground, E-9
AJK outplayed Peshawar in a sensational nail-biter. Nisar Ali’s master class innings of 105 runs off 57 balls, featuring 17 (4’s) helped AJK to pile up 229 runs on the board in 20 overs for the loss of 4 wickets. Faisal Mehmood chipped in with 40 runs. Mohsin Khan was the pick amongst the bowler, he claimed 2 wickets for 34 runs.
In reply, Peshawar fought hard, Mohsin Khan and Sanaullah Khan kept their chances alive by dazzling batting but unfortunately fell 4 runs short of the target. Mohsin Khan made 82 runs off 53 balls and Sanaullah made 81 runs off 42 balls. Peshawar made 225 runs for the loss of 2 wickets in 20 overs. Nisar Ali and Habib Taj claimed a wicket apiece.
Result: AJK won by 4 runs
Man of the Match: Nisar Ali
Match-3:
Bahawalpur beat Abbottabad by 9 wickets at Bhutto Cricket Ground:
Abbottabad won the toss and decided to bat first. Abbottabad made 132 runs in 20 overs for the loss of 7 wickets. Naeem Ullah was the top scorer with 46 runs and Riasat Khan made 34 runs. For Bahawalpur, Saqib Ali took 2 wickets, Muhammad Ijaz and Muhammad Ayyaz claimed a wicket apiece.
Bahawalpur in reply chased down the target of 133 runs rapidly in just 10.5 overs for the loss of 1 wicket. Moeen Aslam’s bat swung wildly and smashed unbeaten 78 runs off just 37 balls, featuring 11 (4’s) and 1 huge six.
Result: Bahawalpur won by 9 wickets
Man of the Match: Moeen Aslam
Match-4:
Lahore beat Okara at PAF Cricket Ground, E-9
Okara batting first made 175 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in stipulated 20 overs. Umar Daraz played a splendid inning of 93 runs off 59 balls. Rizwan Ali was the pick amongst the bowlers, he took 4 wickets for 33 runs.
In reply, Lahore chased the target in style within 11.2 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. Matiullah remained unbeaten on 85 runs off 38 balls with the help of 12 (4’s) and 1 six, he was well supported by Mohammad Salman who made 50 runs off 17 balls. Iftikhar Tiger was the only bowler for Okara to claim a wicket.
Result: Lahore won by 8 wickets
Man of the Match: Matiullah.
