Rawalpindi, 17 November 2023: Karachi Whites defeated Multan Region by 43 runs in the second semi-final of the Pakistan Cup. The match ended due to poor light and was decided by the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method.
Multan openers Zain Abbas and Sharjeel Khan fared poorly with Zain being caught out after making six off 13 and Sharjeel being ducked off eight balls.
Left-handed batter Haseebullah however, delivered a powerhouse innings making 106 off 108 deliveries with 12 fours and two sixes and continued to play until the last ball.
Sohaib Maqsood made 32 off 35 before being caught by Sarfaraz Ahmed off the bowling of Nauman Ali in the 15th over. Sharoon Siraj lost his wicket via a run-out at seven off 15. Muhammad Shehzad and Muhammad Imran ended their runs at 26 (31) and 28 (25) respectively.
Sohail Khan registered a four-fer claiming the scalps of Imran, Zahid Mehmood, Faisal Akram and Mohammad Sadaqat while conceding 44 runs. Ghulam Mudassar claimed two wickets and conceded 31 runs. Noman Ali and Asad Shafiq took one wicket each.
Earlier, the partnership between Karachi Whites openers Shan Masood and Saim Ayub had managed to yield a collective score of 106 runs. Shan Masood’s wicket fell earlier in the 15th over and he ended his run at 41 off 38. Saim Ayub became Karachi Whites’ highest run-getter with 95 off 86 deliveries featuring 12 fours and one maximum. He continued to play till the 26th over and lost his wicket to Zahid Mehmood.
Right-handed batter Habibullah managed to pull off 40 off 45 deliveries before losing his wicket to Muhammad Imran. Asad Shafiq registered a dismal performance and was sent to the pavilion after scoring only four runs off eight deliveries.
Danish Aziz managed to make 33 off 42 before being sent back in the 41st over. Sarfaraz Ahmed amassed 28 off 27 deliveries and lost his wicket to Tahir Hussain while Anwar Ali managed 22 off 14 before being bowled by Mohammad Sadaqat.
Multan’s Imran claimed the scalps of Shan Masood, Habibullah and Azam Khan while conceding 58 runs. Faisal Akram and Mohamad Sadaqat claimed two wickets each while Tahir Hussain and Zahid Mehmood bagged one wicket each.
Karachi Whites made 280 runs, losing all their wickets in 44.3 overs setting a match-winning target of 281. They will now take on Peshawar in the final of the Pakistan Cup at Pindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Scores in Brief:
Karachi Whites beat Multan by 43 runs (DLS)
Karachi Whites 280 all out in 44.3 overs (Saim Ayub 95, Shan Masood 41, Habibullah 40; Mohammad Imran 3-58, Mohammad Sadaqat 2-45, Faisal Akram 2-52)
Multan 229-9 in 41 overs (Haseebullah 106 not out, Sohaib Maqsood 32; Sohail Khan 4-44, Ghulam Mudassar 2-31)
