KARACHI: Northern defeated the previously unbeaten Southern Punjab by 40 runs in the final of the National T20 2nd XI tournament at the National Stadium Karachi on Thursday, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board.Southern Punjab, who had remained undefeated in the tournament by winning each of their five round matches besides overcoming Central Punjab in the semi-final, capitulated under pressure in the final against an inspired Northern side that produced a memorable all-round performance to lift the trophy.Batting first after being sent in, Northern posted a mammoth 196 for seven in their 20 overs. Shoaib Ahmed Minhas held the innings together with a 45-ball 68, which included four fours and three sixes. Man-of-the-Match Jamal Anwar hit a quickfire 40 off 21 balls to ensure Northern’s huge total. Opener Zeeshan Malik also made 34 off 19 balls whereas semi-final hero Shahzad Azam scored an unbeaten 22 off nine balls. Zulfiqar Babar was the pick of the bowlers as he took three wickets for 28 runs in his four overs.Southern Punjab lost their way in the chase after an 85-run opening wicket stand between Zeeshan Ashraf (61 off 26 balls, three sixes and eight fours) and Mukhtar Ahmed (22 off 25 balls, two fours). Leg-spinner Osama Mir took three while Nauman Ali and Salman Irshad claimed two scalps each to derail the Southern Punjab batting line-up.Southern Punjab crashed from 85 without loss to 156 all out in 17.5 overs as Northern celebrated an unlikely win.Zeeshan Ashraf was named the best batsman of the tournament for scoring 395 runs, whereas Raza Ali Dar and Muhammad Imran were jointly awarded the best bowler award. Both picked 13 wickets apiece.
from The News International - Sports https://ift.tt/344HWud
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