Pakistan’s hard-hitting batsman Asif Ali, who has been out of the national side in the recent past after a string of lackluster performances, made his mark in the ongoing Pakistan Cup with a blistering century against Southern Punjab on Tuesday.

Ali, who represents the Northern side in the tournament, scored 127 runs off just 70 deliveries with the help of 17 fours and five massive sixes to propel his side to a score of 306 runs in their allotted 50 overs.

Leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood finally got the better of the power-hitter, making him play a shot that was eventually caught by fielder Mukhtar Ahmed.

Asif Ali was initially viewed as the answer to the national side’s power-hitting problems but failed to convert his domestic form into international success.

The 29-year-old has represented Pakistan in 18 One-Day Internationals (ODIs) scoring 361 runs at an average of 27.76 along with 25 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) scoring 331 runs at an average of 18.38.

Scores in brief (Tuesday, January 12)

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Balochistan by two wickets at the State Bank Stadium

Balochistan 377-6, 50 overs (Bismillah Khan 92, Imran Farhat 77, Awais Zia 66, Akbar-ur-Rehman 55; Irfanullah Shah 2-65, Arshad Iqbal 2-79)

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 378-8, 49.4 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 155, Kamran Ghulam 81, Khalid Usman 56; Taj Wali 4-74, Umaid Asif 2-54)

Player-of-the-Match: Sahibzada Farhan

Northern beat Southern Punjab by 57 runs at the UBL Sports Complex

Northern 306-9, 50 overs (Asif Ali 127, Mohammad Nawaz 52; Mohammad Ilyas 4-61, Zahid Mahmood 2-43)

Southern Punjab 249 all out, 45.2 overs (Mukhtar Ahmed 139, Sohaib Maqsood 40; Mohammad Ismail 3-47, Mohammad Nawaz 2-21, Salman Irshad 2-44, Athar Mehmood 2-54)

Player-of-the-Match: Asif Ali

Sindh beat Central Punjab by six wickets at the NBP Sports Complex

Central Punjab 287 all out, 48.2 overs (Ali Zaryab 68, Tayyab Tahir 52, Hasan Ali 44; Mohammad Umar 4-59, Saud Shakeel 2-34, Anwar Ali 2-48)

Sindh 289-4, 46.5 overs (Khurram Manzoor 119, Saud Shakeel 58; Bilal Asif 1-41, Hasan Ali 1-56)

Player-of-the-Match: Khurram Manzoor