Lahore, 19 October 2021: Both Northern sides (Whites and Blues) and Southern Punjab U19 Whites recorded victories on the third and final day of the National U19 Championship (three-day) matches played at six Punjab venues. Three matches ended in draws with Southern Punjab U19 Blues narrowly avoiding defeat against Sindh U19 Blues.
In a Pool A fixture being played at the Jinnah Stadium Sialkot, Northern U19 Whites recorded a comfortable 10-wicket win over Balochistan U19 Whites. On the third-day Northern U19 Whites chased down the 23-run target without losing a wicket after Balochistan U19 Whites were rolled over for 129 in their second innings.
Skipper Haseebullah was the only one to offer some resistance as he scored a half-century. Left-arm-pacer Jahandad Khan starred for Northern in the second innings with a five-wicket haul while Usman Khan took three wickets.
In another Pool A fixture being staged at the Lahore Country Club Muridke, Southern Punjab U19 Whites defeated Sindh U19 by eight wickets. Set a paltry 54-run target, Southern Punjab U19 Whites reached the target for the loss of two wickets. The victory was set-up by left-arm-wrist-spinner Faisal Akram who took five wickets in the second innings to follow in his four-wicket first innings haul.
Sindh U19 Whites were bowled out on the third-day for 217 in their second innings. Zeeshan Qasim fought hard with 86 off 184 balls, Wahaj Riaz scored 53 runs. Faisal finished with figures of 5 for 93 in 22.3 overs.
The Pool A fixture at the Jinnah Stadium Gujranwala between Central Punjab U19 Whites and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites, ended in a draw. After the entire day’s play was lost on day-two due to rain and a wet outfield, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites posted 240 for seven in their first innings with Rahimullah returning undefeated with 84 off 184 balls (nine fours, one six). Sahil Yousuf contributed 46. Mohammad Awais took three wickets
Central Punjab U19 Whites were bowled out for 228 in their first innings.
In a Pool B fixture at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi, Northern U19 Blues recorded an eight-wicket victory over Balochistan U19 Blues. Set a 54-run target, Northern U19 Blues completed the task for the loss of two wickets in 13.4 overs.
Earlier on day-three, Balochistan U19 Blues were bowled out for 141 in their second innings with Aurangzaib top-scoring with 39. Abidullah took three while Aamir Hasan and Mehran Mumtaz took two wickets each.
The Pool B fixture at the National Cricket Ground Islamabad between Sindh U19 Blues and Southern Punjab U19 Blues, ended in a dramatic draw. Southern Punjab Blues U19 who were set a 218-run target crashed to 77 for nine in 34.1 overs. The last pair of Mohammad Abu Bakar and Huzaifa Shafiq played out 17 balls without adding a run to ensure a draw for their side. Aaliyan Mehmood and Khawaja Mohammad Hafeez had taken three wickets each to trigger the Southern Punjab U19 batting debacle.
Earlier in the day, Sindh U19 Blues had posted 152 for eight in 42.2 overs in their second innings before asking Southern Punjab U19 Blues to bat again. Muhammad Zahid took five Sindh second innings wickets while Zarrar Shakeel took three.
The Pool B fixture at the Shalimar Cricket Ground Islamabad between Central Punjab U19 Blues and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Blues, ended in a draw. After conceding a 114-run first innings lead, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Blues posted 212 for six in 91 overs of batting before the match was declared a draw on the third and final day. Najab Khan top-scored with KP U19 Blues with an unbeaten 63 off 174 balls (nine fours). Ahmad Khan scored 44, Awais Ali took three wickets for Central Punjab U19 Blues.
Scores in Brief –Pool A:
Northern U19 Whites beat Balochistan U19 Whites by 10 wickets: Balochistan U19 Whites 138 all out, 53.2 overs (Mohammad Muddasir 31, Mohammad Nasir 24; Hasnain Sabir 4-28, Shan Khan 2-3, Jahandad Khan 2-41) and 129 all out, 54.1 overs (Haseebullah 55, Qudratullah 26; Jahandad Khan 5-26, Usman Khan 3-67. Northern U19 Whites 248 all out, 74.4 overs (Syed Hashim Mir 83, Suleman Asif 57, Abu Huraira 4-61, Hikmatullah 3-39) and 23 for no loss 3.4 overs
Southern Punjab U19 Whites beat Sindh U19 Whites by 8 wickets: Southern Punjab U19 Whites 313 for 9, 80 overs (Mohammad Shehzad 107, Mohammad Ammar 71; Wahaj Riaz 3-39) and 54 for 2, 20.1 overs. Sindh U19 Whites 149 all out, 42.2 overs (Wahaj Riaz 49, Ghazi Ghori 25; Faisal Akram 4-43, Muhammad Aqib 2-10, Awais Abbas 2-22) and 217 all out, 59.3 overs (Zeeshan Qasim 86, Wahaj Riaz 53; Faisal Akram 5-93, Muhammad Ismail 2-25)
Match drawn: Central Punjab U19 Whites 217 for 9, 72.2 overs (Usman Nadeem 68, Ali Razzaq 52 not out, Ali Zunair Asif 51; Khalid Shah 3-37, Mohammad Ayaz 2-26, Mohammad Umer 2-58). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Whites 240 for 7, 80 overs (Rahimullah 84 not out, Sahal Yousuf 46; Muhammad Awais 3-35, Hunain Shah 2-47)
Scores in Brief –Pool B:
Northern U19 Blues beat Balochistan U19 Blues by 8 wickets: Balochistan U19 Blues 182 all out, 54.3 overs (Basit Ali 43, Mohammad Waheed 28 not out; Aamir Hasan 3-36, Affan Ishaq 2-15, Abidullah 2-43) and 141 all out, 58.1 overs (Aurangzaib 39, Yasir Khan 23; Abidullah 3-26, Aamir Hasan 2-26). Northern U19 Blues 270 all out, 74.4 overs (Mohammad Hussain 76, Mehran Mumtaz 43; Shamraiz Khan 3-53, Sajjad Ali 3-67) and 56 for 2, 13.4 overs.
Match Drawn: Sindh U19 Blues 273 all out, 72.3 overs (Rizwan Mehmood 146, Talha Ahsan 38; Mohammad Zahid 4-58, Abu Bakar 2-47) and 152 for 8, 42.2 overs (Abdullah Fazal 34, Talha Ahsan 32; Muhammad Zahid 5-45, Zarrar Shakeel 3-28). Southern Punjab U19 Blues 172 for 7, 61 overs (Sharjeel Hasan 65, Moheer Saeed 42; Asif Ali 4-34, Talha Ahsan 2-34) and 77 for 9, 37 overs (Moheer Saeed 21, Aaliyan Mehmood 3-12, Khuwaja Mohammad Hafeez 3-23)
Match Drawn: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U19 Blues 159 all out, 54.5 overs (Chaudhary Shujah 54, Maaz Ahmed Sadaqat 39; Arham Nawab 3-35, Ali Asfand 3-44) and 212 for 6, 91 overs (Najab Khan 63 not out, Ahmad Khan 44; Awais Ali 3-26). Central Punjab U19 Blues 273 for 7, 69 overs (Hasnaat Abbas 67, Usama Zahid 63, Shahwaiz Irfanullah 57 not out; Maaz Ahmed Sadaqat 3-29)
