Faisalabad, 15 March 2025: Sahibzada Farhan’s unbeaten century handed Peshawar a victory in their first match of the Bank Alfalah Presents Inverex Solar Energy National T20 Cup 2024-25 here at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad on Saturday night.
In the second game of the night, Karachi Blues’ banked on unbeaten 142-run opening stand between Abdullah Fazal and Jahanzaib Sultan to outsmart Larkana.
Peshawar Region vs Lahore Region Whites
Peshawar hunted down the 182-run target with eight balls to spare as Sahibzada led the charge with 114 not out off 59 balls hitting nine fours and as many sixes. He also partnered with Maaz Sadaqat (37, 38b, 5x4s) to produce a match-sealing 129-run opening partnership and posted his highest T20 career score.
Skipper Iftikhar Ahmed struck two fours and one six before departing for a 12-ball 19 with the scorecard reading 152-2. For Lahore Whites, Mohamad Rameez Jnr and Ubaid Shah dismissed one batter each.
Earlier, Lahore Whites benefitted from an unbeaten 85-run fourth-wicket stand between Tayyab Tahir and Saad Nasim, who had joined forces at 96-3.
Tayyab, batting at No.4, struck seven fours and one six in his 66 not out off 46 balls, while Saad contributed unbeaten 41 off 31 ball hitting one four and three sixes.
Karachi Region Blues vs Larkana Region
Karachi Blues romped to a 10-wicket victory over Larkana as they chased the 142-run target with 36 balls to spare. Player of the match Jahanzaib Sultan was the top scorer out of the two opening batters as he struck unbeaten 79 off 43 balls clobbering six fours and five sixes.
Abdullah Fazal faced 41 balls for his 61 not out with the help of four fours and three sixes.
Earlier, Larkana elected to bat first and posted 141-7 in the allotted 20 overs after slipping to 85-5. Sabit Ali, who scored 30 off 22 balls with the help of 22 balls, was the top-scorer for Larkana.
For Karachi Blues, skipper Rameez Aziz and Bahadur Ali picked up two wickets each, while Mohammad Asghar, Aarish Ali Khan and Mohammad Hamza dismissed one batter each.
Scores in brief:
Match 3 – Peshawar Region beat Lahore Region Whites by eight wickets at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Lahore Whites 181-3, 20 overs (Tayyab Tahir 66 not out, Saad Nasim 41 not out, Mohammad Saleem 25, Mohammad Faiq 24; Niaz Khan 1-31)
Peshawar 182-2, 18.4 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 114 not out, Maaz Sadaqat 37, Mohammad Rameez Jnr 1-15)
Player of the match – Sahibzada Farhan (Peshawar Region)
Match 4 – Karachi Region Blues beat Larkana Region by 10 wickets at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Larkana 141-7, 20 overs (Sabit Ali 30, Ghulam Raza 20, Shahzaib Aziz 20; Rameez Aziz 2-20, Bahadur Ali 2-38)
Karachi Blues 142-0, 14 overs (Jahanzaib Sultan 79 not out, Abdullah Fazal 61 not out)
Player of the match – Jahanzaib Sultan (Karachi Region Blues)
Sunday’s fixtures:
Lahore Region Blues vs Bahawalpur Region at Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad; 7pm
Rawalpindi Region vs Abbottabad Region at Multan Cricket Stadium; 4.30pm
Faisalabad Region vs Hyderabad Region at Multan Cricket Stadium; 8.45pm
Karachi Region Whites vs Dera Murad Jamali Region at Iqbal Stadium Faisalabad; 11.15pm
