Rawalpindi (Sports Reporter): Islamabad remained unbeaten in the second phase of the National Physical Disability Cricket Championship and qualified for the semi-final, where they will face Peshawar on Wednesday. On the second day of the second phase, Islamabad won both their matches and secured first position on the points table, while Rawalpindi and Sialkot also won their matches.
On the occasion of these matches, Pakistan Physical Disability Cricket Association President Imran Balwani, Secretary Amiruddin Ansari, Head Coach Sabih Azhar, Regional Heads Javed Ashraf, Mohammad Tahir Raja, Director PPDCA Mohammad Nizam and others were also present.
In the first match of the second day of the second phase at Ayub Park Cricket Ground, Rawalpindi, Islamabad defeated Sialkot by five wickets. Batting first, Sialkot were bowled out for 125 runs thanks to Luqman Arif's 30 and 20 runs each by Muhammad Nauman and Najm-ul-Hassan. Muhammad Bilal took five wickets for 19 runs while Raja Naseem took two players. In reply, Islamabad achieved the target for the loss of five wickets in 18.4 overs. Syed Wazarat Shah scored 41, Usman Pracha scored 27 and Irfanullah scored 16 runs. Shahroz Ali and Muhammad Nauman took two wickets each. Muhammad Bilal was declared Man of the Match.
In the second match, Rawalpindi defeated Faisalabad by 65 runs. Batting first, Rawalpindi scored 161 runs for the loss of eight wickets. Muhammad Tahir scored 55, Rasool Badshah scored 29 and Bilal Azim scored 25 runs. Muhammad Uzair took three wickets while Inam Hussain took two wickets. In reply, Faisalabad's team could score only 96 runs, Irfan Ali with 31 and Adnan Ali with 14 runs were prominent. For the winning team, Qayyum Khan took three wickets and Abdul Basit took two players. PD Cricket Team Head Coach Sabih Azhar presented the Man of the Match cash award to Qayyum Khan.
In the third match, Sialkot defeated Faisalabad by 9 wickets. Batting first, Faisalabad's team collapsed for 94 runs, Sajjad Akbar was the top scorer with 42 runs off 34 balls with the help of 6 fours. Muhammad Nauman took three wickets for 2 runs while Najm-ul-Hassan took three wickets for 20 runs. In reply, Sialkot achieved the target for the loss of one wicket in 10.4 overs. Luqman Arif scored 45 runs off 22 balls with the help of 8 fours and Maaz scored 22 runs. Najm-ul-Hassan was given the Man of the Match cash award.
In the fourth and last match, Islamabad defeated Rawalpindi by two wickets after an interesting contest to reach the semi-final unbeaten. Batting first, Rawalpindi scored 158 runs for the loss of 9 wickets. Arsalan Madni scored 42, Bilal Azim scored 38 and Muhammad Asim scored 25 runs. Waqif Shah and Zubair Khan took three wickets each. In reply, Islamabad achieved the required target for the loss of eight wickets in 19.3 overs. Wazarat Shah scored 53, Usman Pracha scored 41, Muhammad Shaukat scored a useful 19 and Waqif Shah scored 14 runs. Rasool Badshah and Qayyum Khan took two wickets each. Head Coach Sabih Azhar presented the Man of the Match cash award to Waqif Shah.
The first semi-final of the championship will be played on Wednesday, 11th November between Peshawar and Islamabad.
