Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan lead Northern to victory over Southern Punjab

Northern registered their second consecutive win in the ongoing National T20 Cup by beating Southern Punjab by 27 runs in Multan.

Chasing the 204-run target, Southern Punjab lost their captain, Shan Masood, early in the run chase after he was dismissed for one by pacer Haris Rauf.

Although, fellow opener Zeeshan Ashraf kept the innings on track with a 61-run partnership for the second wicket with Umar Siddiq (33 off 24) and 60, for the third wicket, with Sohaib Maqsood (18 off 12).  

But Ashraf, after playing a commanding knock of 73 runs from just 37 balls, and Maqsood departed in quick succession to leave Southern Punjab at 137/4 in the 13th over. Both wickets were taken by Northern’s captain Shadab Khan.

At this stage, Northern tightened the noose as Southern Punjab were restricted to 176/9 in 20 overs and, hence, lost their second match in a row.

For the winning side, Haris Rauf claimed four wickets for 24 runs while Shadab ended with figures of 3/30.  

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Batting first, after winning the toss, Northern posted 203/5 in their allotted 20 overs.

Opener Ali Imran scored an impressive half-century of 39 balls, with the help of three fours and similar number of sixes.

Northern’s hero from the previous game, Haider Ali, and Shadab chipped in with brisk contributions of 28 runs each.

A quick 56-run sixth wicket partnership between Asif Ali (29 off 21) and Mohammad Nawaz (31 off 15) ensured that their side compiled a handsome total, bearing in mind the flat nature of the track.

For Southern Punjab, spinner Zahid Mehmood claimed three wickets for 35 runs while veteran pacer Mohammad Irfan bagged two wickets.