National T20 Cup: Abbottabad overcome Lahore Whites to reach semi-final

Abbottabad Region secured a comfortable six-wicket victory over Lahore Whites in the quarter-final of the National T20 Cup at the Iqbal Stadium on Sunday, booking their spot in the semi-finals.

Abbottabad’s captain, Yasir Shah, made the right call to bowl first, and his bowlers responded by restricting Lahore Whites to a modest total of 130/5 in 20 overs. Despite a valiant half-century from Muhammad Akhlaq, who top-scored with 59 off 49 balls, Lahore Whites struggled to build partnerships.

Akhlaq's innings included seven boundaries and one six, but he lacked significant support from the other batters. Kamran Afzal was the only other notable contributor, scoring a quick 25 runs at the backend of the innings.

Khalid Usman was the standout bowler for Abbottabad, claiming two wickets for just 15 runs in his four overs. Arshad Iqbal and Yasir Shah also chipped in with one wicket each.

In reply, Abbottabad made light work of the 131-run target, reaching it with 13 balls to spare and losing just four wickets along the way. Kamran Ghulam played a match-winning knock, remaining unbeaten on 58 off 41 balls, which included six fours and two sixes.

Ghulam was involved in key partnerships with opener Shahzaib Khan (28) and middle-order batter Afaq Ahmed (31), steering Abbottabad comfortably to victory. For his match-winning performance, Ghulam was named the Player of the Match.

Lahore Whites' bowling attack, consisting of Mohammad Faiq, Kamran, Mohammad Salman, and Ubaid Shah, each took one wicket, but they couldn’t contain Abbottabad’s chase.

Abbottabad's semi-final opponent will be decided after the remaining quarter-final fixtures.