Pakistan became the first nation to resume domestic cricket in Asia amidst the coronavirus pandemic as the National T20 Cup began in style at the National Stadium in Multan. The first match involved Northern (Pakistan) taking on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and it was the unheralded Northern team that defeated Khyber by 79 runs thanks to a magnificent knock of 90 by Haider Ali and contributions from Zeeshan Malik (77) and superb bowling performances from Mohammad Nawaz, Muhammad Musa and Sohail Tanvir.
Northern (Pakistan) elected to bat but Shaheen Afridi, who picked up four wickets in four balls in a recent domestic T20 match in England, struck when he removed Ali Imran for 21. However, Haider Ali and Zeeshan Malik steadied the ship and built a solid partnership.
Haider Ali was in fine form as he blasted 90 off 48 balls and the knock included seven fours and five sixes while Zeeshan Malik’s 77 included eight fours and three sixes. Wahab Riaz, the experienced Pakistan left-arm pacer, bore the brunt of the onslaught as he conceded 51 runs in three overs.
Khyber not in the hunt
With Northern (Pakistan) reaching 242/3, Sahibzada Farman was the only batsman to get going in a power-packed line-up that included Pakistan internationals Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik.
Hafeez, Malik, Iftikhar Ahmed and Fakhar all fell cheaply, with Muhammad Musa taking three wickets. Northern (Pakistan) won by 79 runs to make a winning start in the National T20 Cup. In the other game between Southern Punjab (Pakistan) and Central Punjab, Kamran Akmal’s 75 and Abdullah Shafique’s blazing 102 off 58 balls helped Central Punjab chase down Southern Punjab’s score of 200 to win by seven wickets.
The National T20 Cup will be played until October 18 in Multan and Rawalpindi and this will serve as a warm-up for Pakistan’s players who will play Zimbabwe in three ODIs and three T20Is beginning in October.
