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KARACHI: It took a Super Over in the end to separate the winners of the second semi-final in the Pakistan Cup at the SBP Sports Complex here on Saturday as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa qualified for the third final of the season after overcoming Northern’s spirited challenge.
Both teams scored 303 in their respective innings to tie the match but Northern were no match for the National T20 Cup champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — who also tied the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final against Central Punjab at the start of the year with both declared joint champions — as they managed just two runs and lost both wickets during the one-over eliminator after ex-Pakistan stalwart Abdul Razzaq’s charges made 16 runs.
Former Test paceman Imran Khan was instrumental in pushing his side into the final by dismissing youngsters Haider Ali and Rohail Nazir in consecutive deliveries.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, thus, will face Central Punjab for the second successive domestic final when they take the field on Sunday. Central Punjab made the title decider after crushing Sindh by 127 runs in Friday’s first semi-final at the same venue.
Sahibzada Farhan was the star for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa during the run chase, as the Pakistan discard hammered 132 in his 144-ball innings containing 13 boundaries and a brace of sixes. Musadiq Ahmed struck 62 from 50 deliveries with the aid of eight fours and three sixes, while partnering man-of-the-match Farhan in the first-wicket partnership of 127.
But Northern kept fight back into contention with wickets at critical junctures before Asif Afridi hoisted paceman Waqas Ahmed over midwicket when eight were required from two balls, and then took a single to level the scores.
Earlier in the morning, Northern opted to bat in a changed strategy that was overwhelmingly employed during the league phase when the toss-winning captain often chose to bowl first.
Northern made steady progress before accelerating to surpass the 300-mark. Hammad Azam nudged the new chief selector with a captain’s innings of 94 until he tried to risk a second run but was tragically found short after striking seven fours and four sixes during his 63-ball knock.
Other major run-getters for Northern were Haider (65 off 60 balls, three fours and two sixes) and Rohail (57 off 65, four fours and a six).
Scoreboard
NORTHERN:
Taimoor Sultan c Khalid b Asif 5
Haider Ali c Iftikhar b Khalid 65
Naveed Malik b Imran Khan 16
Umar Amin c Musadiq b Iftikhar 24
Rohail Nazir b Wasim 57
Hammad Azam run out 94
Nasir Nawaz b Wasim 1
Mubasir Khan b Asif 7
Athar Mahmood not out 15
Waqas Ahmed not out 11
EXTRAS (LB-5, W-5) 10
TOTAL (for eight wkts, 50 overs) 303
FALL OF WKTS: 1-23, 2-52, 3-103, 4-127, 5-216, 6-220, 7-235, 8-292.
DID NOT BAT: Salman Irshad.
BOWLING: Imran Khan 9-0-48-1 (1w); Mohammad Imran 5-0-60-0 (3w); Asif Afridi 10-0-56-2; Khalid Usman 10-0-57-1; Iftikhar Ahmed 9-1-40-1; Mohammad Wasim
7-0-37-2 (1w).
KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA:
Sahibzada Farhan c Rohail b Athar 132
Musadiq Ahmed lbw B Hammad 62
Aamir Azmat run out 1
Iftikhar Ahmed c sub b Mubasir 19
Adil Amin c Hammad b Waqas 25
Mohammad Haris run out 7
Khalid Usman b Athar 7
Mohammad Wasim not out 18
Asif Afridi not out 14
EXTRAS (LB-16, W-2, NB-2) 20
TOTAL (for seven wkts, 50 overs) 303
FALL OF WKTS: 1-127, 2-131, 3-168, 4-210, 5-237, 6-266, 7-271.
DID NOT BAT: Mohammad Imran, Imran Khan.
BOWLING: Athar Mahmood 10-1-58-2 (1w); Waqas Ahmed 9-0-65-1 (2nb); Salman Irshad 10-0-68-0; Nasir Nawaz 9-1-50-0; Hammad Azam 7-0-19-1 (1w); Mubasir Khan 5-0-27-1.
RESULT: Match tied; Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 16-0 beat Northern 2-2 in one-over eliminator.
UMPIRES: Imran Javed and Zameer Haider.
TV UMPIRE: Waleed Yaqub.
MATCH REFEREE: Nadeem Arshad.
OFFICIAL SCORER: Syed Obaid Ahmed.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Sahibzada Farhan.
SUNDAY’S FIXTURE: Final — Central Punjab vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (SBP Sports Complex, 9:30am PST)