- Match scorecards available here
Lahore, 28 June 2022: As many as three centuries and 13 half-centuries were scored as Central Punjab U19 Blues, Sindh U19 Blues, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Blues, Sindh U19 Whites, Central Punjab U19 Whites and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites won their first-round 50-over matches of the National U19 Cup today.
Pool A fixtures:
In a Pool A match at the National Cricket Ground in Islamabad, Northern Blues’ Aseer Mughal’s knock of 117 went in vain as Sindh U19 Blues defeated Northern U19 Blues by four wickets. Batting first, Northern Blues were bowled out for 246 in the 48th over. Aseer struck 13 fours and five sixes during the course of the innings. Saad Masood added 61 for the losing team. Sindh Blues’ right-arm fast Aftab Ibrahim bagged five wickets for 36 runs.
In return, half-centuries by Haroon Arshad (53 not out) and Arbaz Khan (51) helped Northern U19 Blues achieved the target in the 49th over for the loss of six wickets.
At the Ayub Park Cricket Ground in Rawalpindi, Afaq Khan’s 141 guided Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Blues to a five-wicket win over Southern Punjab U19 Blues. Batting first, Southern Punjab Blues scored 273 for eight in their allotted 50 overs. Hamza Nadir top-scored with 48. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Blues’ Ismail Khan was the pick of the bowlers with three for 37. Muhammad Zubair and Haseeb Khan bagged two wickets apiece.
In return, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Blues achieved the target in the 46th over for the loss of five wickets. Afaq’s 118-ball 141 included 10 fours and as many sixes. Wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Zulkifal contributed unbeaten 41 runs for the winning team.
In another Pool A match at the House of Northern in Islamabad, half centuries by Azan Awais (88, 137b, eight fours) and Muhammad Waqas (82, 72b, 11 fours, three sixes) and six wickets from right-arm fast Saria Khan led Central Punjab U19 Blues to a 135-run win over Balochistan U19 Blues.
Batting first, Central Punjab U19 Blues were dismissed for 284 on the penultimate ball of the innings.
In return, Saria’s six for 30 from 6.5 overs bundled out Balochistan U19 Blues for 149 in the 38th over. For the losing team, Basit Ali was the only notable run-getter with 77 off 82 balls, hitting eight fours and five sixes.
Pool B fixtures:
In a Pool B fixture at the LCCA Ground in Lahore, half-centuries by captain Hafiz Usman Nadeem (84, 94b, 1o fours) and Ali Razzaq (51 retd hurt, 60b, five fours) and five wickets from Hassan Ali led Central Punjab U19 Whites to a crushing 170-run win over Balochistan U19 Whites.
Batting first, Central Punjab U19 Whites posted 313 for six in 50 overs. Balochistan U19 Whites Siraj Mehboob grabbed three wickets for 38. In return, Balochistan U19 Whites were dismissed for 143 in the 38th over with Hikmatullah scoring 52. For the winning team, right-arm fast Hassan picked five for 31 from 9.2 overs.
At the Saeed Ajmal Cricket Academy in Faisalabad, an all-round performance from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites’ Ahmad Hussain helped his side to a comfortable 135-run win over Southern Punjab U19 Whites. Batting at number five Ahmad top-scored with 66 off 75, hitting five fours and three sixes to help his side post 270 for six from 50 overs. He was equally supported by his partner Abbas Ali who scored 61-ball 54, which included six fours and one six.
In return, with his right-arm leg-spin, Ahmad bagged two wickets for 19 runs from 6.1 overs to dismiss Southern Punjab U19 Whites for 135 in the 42nd over. For the losing team, Husnian Majid top-scored with a 71-ball 33.
In another Pool B fixture being staged at the Rana Naveed Cricket Academy in Sheikhupura, Ali Ishaq’s 161 helped Sindh U19 Whites beat Northern U19 Whites by 53 runs.
Batting first, Sindh U19 Whites scored 313 for four from their allotted 50 overs. Opening batter Ali Ishaq innings of 161 off 152 balls included 21 fours and two sixes. He was well supported by Noman Ali who returned undefeated on 72 off 82 balls, smashing six fours.
In return, Northern U19 Whites were bowled out for 260 in the 46th over. Half-centuries from Dawood Nazar (69, 66b, nine fours, one) and Shahmeer Ali (62, 91b, six fours) went in losing cause.
Abdul Moeez, Muhammad Saad Asif and Syed Tayyab Hussain bagged two wickets apiece.
The second round matches of the tournament will take place on Thursday, 30 June.
Scores in brief – Pool A:
Sindh U19 Blues beat Northern U19 Blues by four wickets
Northern Blues 246 all out, 47.3 overs (Aseer Mughal 117, Saad Masood 61; Aftab 5-36, Afnan Khan 3-35)
Sindh Blues 247-6, 48.2 overs (Haroon Arshad 53 not out, Arbaz Khan 51, Habibullah 34; Aamir Hassan 4-45)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Blues beat Southern Punjab U19 Blues by five wickets
Southern Punjab Blues 273-8, 50 overs (Hamza Nadir 48, Sharjeel Hassan 40; Ismail Khan 3-37, Muhammad Zubair 2-35, Haseeb Khan 2-64)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Blues 274-5, 46 overs (Afaq Khan 141, Muhammad Zulkifal 41 not out; Bilal Ahmed 2-42)
Central Punjab U19 Blues beat Balochistan U19 Blues by 135 runs
Central Punjab Blues 284 all out, 49.5 overs (Azan Awais 88, Mohammad Waqas 82; Sajjad Ali 4-27)
Balochistan Blues 149 all out, 37.5 overs (Basit Ali 77; Saria Khan 6-30, Arham Nawab 2-20)
Scores in brief – Pool B:
Sindh U19 Whites beat Northern U19 Whites by 53 runs
Sindh Whites 313-4, 50 overs (Ali Ishaq 161, Noman Ali 72 not out; Muhammad Nabeel 2-50)
Northern Whites 260 all out, 45.2 overs (Dawood Nazar 69, Shahmeer Ali 62, Husnain Nadeem 47; Muhammad Saad Asif 2-41, Abdul Moeez 2-46, Muhammad Fahad Amin 2-53, Syed Tayyab Hussain 2-58)
Central Punjab U19 Whites beat Balochistan U19 Whites by 170 runs
Central Punjab Whites 313-6, 50 overs (Hafiz Usman Nadeem 84, Ali Razzaq 51 retired hurt, Moiz Rana 48; Siraj Mehboob 3-38)
Balochistan Whites 143 all out, 37.2 overs (Hikmatullah 52; Hassan Ali 5-31)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites beat Southern Punjab U19 Whites by 135 runs
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Whites 270-6, 50 overs (Ahmad Hussain 66, Abbas Ali 54, Muhammad Salman 43; Muhammad Aqib Asghar 2-38, Muhammad Ismail 2-56)
Southern Punjab Whites 135 all out, 41.1 overs (Husnain Majid 33; Muhammad Irfan 2-17, Ahmad Hussain 2-19, Aimal Khan 2-32, Muhammad Tahir 2-36)
