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KARACHI: Central Punjab kept alive their dreams of annexing a major title for a second straight time after crushing Pakistan Cup table-toppers Sindh by 127 runs to seal place in the final of the 50-over competition here on Friday.
In the first semi-final at the SBP Sports Complex, Sindh were left to rue the decision to bowl first after their stand-in captain Asad Shafiq won the toss on a placid wicket as Central Punjab rattled up 87 in the Powerplay overs and continued to score freely before reaching 339-9 in the stipulated 50 overs.
Sindh lost Omair Bin Yousuf and Mohammad Hasan quickly as both got run-out in contrasting fashions. And despite ex-Pakistan opener Khurram Manzoor striking a 73-ball 88 (12 boundaries), they were dismissed in the 37th over for 212.
Their chief run-getters were openers Tayyab Tahir (60 off 70 balls) and Rizwan Hussain (56 off 29, five sixes and four fours), who outscored his partner during their 87-run stand.
Zafar Gohar played a fine hand of 39-ball 53 featuring three sixes and as many four fours.
Zafar, who claimed the prized scalp of Khurram, was declared man-of-the-match.
Central Punjab’s opponents in Sunday’s final will be decided on Saturday when Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Northern clash in the second semi-final at the same venue.
Scoreboard
CENTRAL PUNJAB:
Tayyab Tahir c Asad b Danish 60
Rizwan Hussain c Hasan b Shahnawaz 56
Mohammad Akhlaq b Hassaan 14
Raza Ali Dar c Hassaan b Hasnain 37
Saad Nasim c Saad b Shahnawaz 39
Qasim Akram run out 27
Zafar Gohar b Hasnain 53
Usman Qadir c Saad b Umar 16
Sohaibullah c Danish b Hassaan 10
Mohammad Ali not out 11
EXTRAS (LB-5, W-11) 16
TOTAL (for nine wkts, 50 overs) 339
FALL OF WKTS: 1-87, 20108, 3-161, 4-211, 5-231, 6-254, 7-315, 8-317, 9-339
DID NOT BAT: Ahmed Bashir
BOWLING: Mohammad Hasnain
10-0-49-2 (2w); Mir Hamza 10-0-69-0 (2w); Mohammad Umar 10-0-63-1 (3w); Shahnawaz Dhani 8-0-59-2 (4w); Hassaan Khan 6-0-42-2; Danish Aziz 3-0-32-1; Asad Shafiq 3-0-20-0
SINDH:
Khurram Manzoor c Usman b Zafar 88
Omair Bin Yousuf run out 0
Mohammad Hasan run out 9
Asad Shafiq c Saad b Ali 14
Saad Ali lbw b Ahmed 54
Danish Aziz b Usman 5
Hassaan Khan st Akhlaq b Usman 15
Mir Hamza c Akhlaq b Ali 16
Mohammad Hasnain b Ali 5
Shahnawaz Dhani not out 0
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-2) 4
TOTAL (all out, 36.5 overs) 212
FALL OF WKTS: 1-9, 2-53, 3-83, 4-137, 5-144, 6-180, 7-184, 8-205, 9-206
BOWLING: Sohaibullah 5-0-35-0 (2w); Raza Ali Dar 3-0-14-0; Zafar Gohar 7-0-40-1; Ahmed Bashir 8-0-40-2; Mohammad Ali 6.5-1-31-3; Usman Qadir 7-0-50-0
RESULT: Central Punjab won by 127 runs.
UMPIRES: Waleed Yaqub and Faisal Afridi
TV UMPIRE: Imtiaz Iqbal
MATCH REFEREE: Iqbal Sheikh
OFFICIAL SCORER: Rashid Aslam
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Zafar Gohar
SATURDAY’S FIXTURE: Second semi-final — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Northern (SBP Sports Complex, 9:30am PST)