Umar, Asif lead Northern to five-wicket win over Southern Punjab

Batsman Umar Amin’s half-century and a quickfire 44 not-out from batsman Asif Ali helped Northern to a comfortable win over Southern Punjab in the third match of the ongoing National T20 Cup at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium.

Set 136 runs to win, Northern chased down the target in 19 overs at the loss of five wickets.

Northern dealt early blows earlier in their innings, losing opener Naved Malik (1 off 6) and one-down Rohail Nazir (4 off 3) inside 3.1 overs.

But, a 63-run stand between Umar, who cracked 50 off 41 with six fours and two sixes, and all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz (24 off 25) for the third-wicket denied any further inroads to Southern Punjab’s bowlers for the next eight overs.

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There was a ray of hope for Southern Punjab when bowler Zahid Mahmood took Umar’s wicket. But Asif’s blistering 24-ball 44 not out, studded with three fours and three sixes, sealed the match.

Zahid and bowler Mohammad Irfan were the standout bowlers for Southern Punjab, picking up two wickets apiece for 14 and 19 runs.

Earlier, Southern Punjab captain Shan Masood opted to bat first.

The decision, however, did not reap desired results as Shan (8 off 7) and batsman Sami Aslam (3 off 8) were back in the pavilion in the first 20 balls of the match, with fast-bowler Mohammad Amir taking both wickets.

The Northern bowling attack kept a lid on the flow of runs as only all-rounder Aamer Yamin and batsman Sohaib Maqsood making solid contributions with the bat with 33 off 20 and 25 off 24, respectively.

Fast-bowler Sohail Tanvir was the pick of the bowler for Northern with three wickets for 27 runs.