Southern Punjab hold nerves for thrilling three-run victory over Central Punjab

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Southern Punjab edged out Central Punjab by three runs in their thrilling National T20 Cup encounter at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

Chasing a daunting target of 206, Central Punjab were jolted after the early departure of the prolific batsman Babar Azam, for a duck, by fast-bowler Aamer Yamin in the first over of the chase.

Batsman Abdullah Shafique (13) was the next to depart after being removed by fast-bowler Mohammad Abbas.

Central Punjab’s batsmen, Kamran Akmal (32), Mohammad Akhlaq (30), Rizwan Hussain (29) and Qasim Akram (21), had great starts and kept the scoring rate up but lost their wickets at crucial intervals to give the advantage to the Southern Punjab side.

All-rounder Faheem Ashraf, however, changed the complexion of the game with a fighting knock of 54 runs off just 22 balls with the help of five sixes and four fours before being removed on the last ball of the penultimate over by bowler Mohammad Imran.

Tailender Usman Qadir was removed by Abbas on the last ball of the match as Central Punjab fell short by just three runs.

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Mohammad Abbas was the pick of the bowlers for the Southern Punjab side after picking up three wickets in four overs at the expense of 41 runs.

Earlier, Central Punjab had won the toss and elected to field first. Opener Zain Abbas (16) was the first to depart after a 54-run opening stand with Southern Punjab’s captain Shan Masood.

Masood appeared in sublime touch at the other end and provided his team with a solid foundation but fell immediately after reaching his fifty. The opener was stumped by wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal, on off-spinner Zafar Gohar’s delivery, after scoring 50 runs off 38 deliveries.

Middle-order batsman Sohaib Maqsood scored a quick-fire 25-run knock off just 12 deliveries before being bowled by Gohar.

In-form batsmen Hussain Talat (59) and Khushdil Shah (47) then combined for a 68-run stand to push their side past 200 runs. The duo remained unbeaten as Southern Punjab managed to score 205 for the loss of three wickets at the end of their allotted overs.

Zafar Gohar was the pick of the bowlers for Central Punjab after picking up two wickets in two overs at the expense of 20 runs.