· First innings lead over Sargodha gives Lahore West Zone Blues Central Punjab-leg title
· Killa Abdullah won the Balochistan-leg after topping the triangular stage
Lahore, 19 July 2022: Balochistan’s Killa Abdullah and Central Punjab’s Lahore West Zone Blues won the two-day City Cricket Association Tournament 2022-23 in their respective jurisdictions on Monday. Killa Abdullah were declared champions of the Balochistan-leg after topping the triangular stage with nine points. Jaffarabad managed to get six points and ended up on the second spot. Khuzdar finished third with no points in the triangular stage.
In the Central Punjab jurisdiction, Lahore West Zone Blues emerged triumphant in the final due to the first innings lead against Sargodha at the LCCA Ground in Lahore. The star performers for the winning team were Ameer Hamza, Ali Manzoor and Asadullah. The right-handed Ameer scored an unbeaten 148. Left-arm spinner Ali bagged four wickets while Asadullah picked five wickets in the match.
Balochistan Cricket Association
In the three-group 13-team Balochistan-leg, Jaffarabad topped Pool A with 15 points. Khuzdar led Pool B with 16 points, while Killa Abdullah dominated Pool C with 15 points. In the batting charts, Jaffarabad’s Zubair Khan scored 618 runs from six outings at 88.29. The left-handed batter also struck two centuries and three half-centuries. Khuzdar’s Faheem Younis was second on the list, scoring 478 runs from five matches at 68.29. The right-handed batter amassed two centuries and one half-century.
Jaffarabad’s Fahad Hussain registered 29 scalps from six outings in the tournament with one five-for. Killa Abdullah’s Ehsanullah picked 22 wickets from five matches with two five-wicket hauls and one ten-wicket haul in the match.
Central Punjab Cricket Association
In the four-group 19-team Central Punjab-leg, Gujranwala, Lahore East Zone Blues, Sargodha and Lahore West Zones Blues topped their respective groups and proceeded to the semi-final stage. Both semi-finals on 14 July were washed out due to rain, leading to Lahore West Zone Blues and Sargodha qualifying for the final.
Atif-ur-Rehman representing Sargodha was number one on the batting charts with 468 runs from five games at 93.60. The right-handed batter struck two centuries and as many half-centuries. Lahore West Zone Blues’ Arslan Arshad was second on the list with 391 runs from four matches at 97.75. He made one century and three half-centuries.
Among bowlers, Sargodha’s Hassan Mehmood and Lahore North Zone Whites’ Muhammad Rameez Jnr bagged 20 wickets each.
Meanwhile, Kurram won the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa-leg on 8 July. Shaheed Benazirabad were crowned champions of the Sindh-leg on 14 July. Attock won the Northern-leg on 15 July. The winner from Southern Punjab-leg will be decided on Thursday 21 July.
