Rizwan Hussain's century guides Central Punjab to fourth win

• Urdu round-up is attached here

Lahore, 22 March 2022: Rizwan Hussain’s century led Central Punjab to a 15-run win over the defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the ninth round match of the Pakistan Cup at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. This was Central Punjab’s fourth win in the tournament and are on fourth spot with eight points. In other fixtures of the round, Southern Punjab and Balochistan won their matches against Sindh and Northern, respectively.

After being asked to bat first, Central Punjab scored 268 for nine in 50 overs. Opening batter Rizwan scored a 120-ball 104, which included seven fours and three sixes. Saad Nasim chipped in with a 52-ball 48, hitting a four and a six. Right-handed Qasim Akram scored 38 off 48, smashing four boundaries.

For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Imran bagged four wickets for 54. Imran Khan Snr took two wickets for 54.

In reply, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were bowled out for 253 on the last ball of the 50^th over. Mohammad Sarwar Afridi batting at number four top-scored with a 59-ball 43, which included two sixes.

Central Punjab’s Qasim with his off-spin picked three wickets for 38. Hussain Talat, Mohammad Faizan and Zafar Gohar grabbed two wickets apiece.

In a close contest, Balochistan overcame Northern by seven runs at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. After being put into bat, Balochistan scored 302 for five in their allotted 50 overs. The right-handed batter and Test cricketer Asad Shafiq top-scored with a 66-ball 89, hitting 12 fours. Opening batters Haseebullah and Imran Butt scored 58 and 54 runs, respectively. The pair added 107 runs for the first wicket. Ayaz Tasawar was other notable run-getter scoring an unbeaten 43 off 24, smashing four fours and two sixes.

In turn, Northern managed to score 295 for six in 50 overs. Wicketkeeper-batter Rohail Nazir top-scored with a 87-ball 82, which included seven fours and a six. Captain Umar Amin (52,65b, five fours) and Ali Imran (50, 57b, four fours, one six) innings also went in vain.

For Balochistan, captain Yasir Shah led from the front and took three wickets for 57 from nine overs. Khurram Shahzad bagged two wickets for 61 from 10 overs.

At the Multan Cricket Stadium, after being put into bat, Southern Punjab scored 314 for six in 50 overs on the back of half-centuries from Hassan Khan, Muhammad Imran and Sharoon Siraj. Sharoon batting at number three scored 57 off 77, hitting four fours and two sixes. Hassan and Imran coming to bat at number seven and eight, respectively put up an unbeaten 128-run partnership for the seventh wicket. Hassan scored 66 off 48, smashing eight fours and one six. Imran top-scored with a 48-ball 71, which included four fours and as many sixes.

Sindh’s Sohail Khan was pick of the bowlers with match figures of three for 71 in nine overs.

In turn, Sindh were dismissed for 268 in the 49^th over. Opening batter Saim Ayub top-scored with a run-a-ball 82. The left-handed batter struck nine boundaries and two sixes during his 130 minutes stay at the crease. Sohail, batting at number seven was other contributor with the bat, scoring 44 off 37, hitting four fours and two sixes.

Southern Punjab’s Zia-ul-Haq picked three wickets for 61. Captain Salman Ali Agha bagged two wickets for 34.

Scores in brief:

Central Punjab beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 15 runs at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

Central Punjab 268-9, 50 overs (Rizwan Hussain 104, Saad Nasim 48, Qasim Akram 38; Mohammad Imran 4-54, Imran Khan Snr 2-54)

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 253 all out, 50 overs (Mohammad Sarwar 43, Ashfaq Ahmed 32, Adil Amin 32, Mehran Ibrahim 32; Qasim Akram 3-38, Hussain Talat 2-32, Zafar Gohar 2-32, Mohammad Faizan 2-37)

Balochistan beat Northern by seven runs at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

Balochistan 302-5, 50 overs (Asad Shafiq 89, Haseebullah 58, Imran Butt 54, Ayaz Tasawar 43 not out)

Northern 295-6, 50 overs (Rohail Nazir 82, Umar Amin 52, Ali Imran 50, Mohammad Huraira 37; Yasir Shah 3-57, Khurram Shahzad 2-61)

Southern Punjab beat Sindh by 46 runs at the Multan Cricket Stadium

Southern Punjab 314-6, 50 overs (Muhammad Imran 71 not out, Hassan Khan 66 not out, Sharoon Siraj 57, Tayyab Tahir 46; Sohail Khan 3-71)

Sindh 268 all out, 48.3 overs (Saim Ayub 82, Danish Aziz 71, Sohail Khan 44, Sharjeel Khan 31; Zia-ul-Haq 3-61, Salman Ali Agha 2-34)

Points table after ninth round