Anwar Ali stuns KPK in Pakistan Cup

Anwar Ali’s stunning knock helped Balochistan in registering a four-wicket win against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) in the Pakistan Cup in Faisalabad on Monday.

After opting to bat first, KPK scored a mammoth total of 372 for the loss of eight wickets in their allotted 20 overs, courtesy another century from opener Khurram Manzoor, who smashed 111 off 99 balls with the help of 16 fours.

He was well supported by his fellow opener Shan Masood and all-rounder Hasan Khan, who scored 50, 51 not out off 45 and 29 balls respectively.

For Balochistan, all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed figures of three for 72 in his 10 overs.

In reply, Balochistan put up a great show, but kept losing wickets at regular intervals because of which they were reduced to 298 for six in the 45^th over.

With 75 needed off just 34 balls, Ahmad Shahzad’s men were looking at third consecutive defeat in the tournament.

But then entered all-rounder Ali, who played the innings of the tournament so far and smashed 58 not out off just 18 balls with the help of five fours and fix sixes to seal a memorable win for Balochistan with five balls to spare.

He was well supported by Khushdil Shah, who scored an unbeaten 64 off 51 balls with the help of three fours and three sixes.

For KPK, all-rounder Hammad Azam was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed two wickets.

For his outstanding batting performance, Ali was named player of the match.