- Sindh win all three second XI tournaments of 2021-22 season
- Points table available here
Lahore, 27 November 2021: Sindh beat Northern by five wickets at the Gaddafi Stadium to clinch Cricket Associations Challenge title on Saturday. Sindh also became the first team to win all three second XI tournaments in a season since the inception of the new domestic structure in 2019.
Earlier, Sindh had won the Cricket Associations T20 held at Bugti Stadium in Quetta from 15 to 22 September and three-day Cricket Associations Championship held across three cities of Punjab from 29 September till 14 November, after topping the six-team table with 34 points.
At Gaddafi Stadium, chasing 260 to win, Sindh’s Usman Khan struck a 91-ball 116 to help his side achieved the target against Northern in the 43rd over. The right-handed batter scored his first century in the tournament which included 11 fours and five sixes. Ammad Alam batting at number three scored a quick-fire 45 off 38 balls, laced with four fours and two sixes. The pair added 83 runs for the second wicket.
For Northern, Nasir Nawaz picked two wickets for 45.
Earlier, after opting to bat, Northern scored 259 for five in 45 overs. Ali Sarfraz and Aqib Shah both scored 57. Taimoor Sultan chipped in with a 78-ball 51, which included three fours.
For Sindh, right-arm fast Hasan Mohsin was pick of the bowlers with three for 50 in nine overs.
At LCCA Ground in Lahore, Central Punjab defeated Balochistan by 98 runs. After being put into bat, Central Punjab scored 321 for seven in 45 overs. Opening batter Mohammad Faizan top-scored with 94 off 86 balls, hitting 11 fours and four sixes. His opening partner Abdul Samad scored a 55-ball 58, which included 10 fours. The pair knitted 154 runs for the opening stand.
Muhammad Akhlaq batting at number three scored run-a-ball 61, smashing four fours and two sixes. The right-handed batter Saad Nasim contributed 47 off 42, laced with two fours and as many sixes.
For Balochistan, right-arm fast Tariq Jameel bagged two wickets for 79.
In return, Balochistan were bowled out for 223 in the 38th over. Gulraiz Sadaf top-scored with a 66-ball 75, hitting nine fours. Down the order, Abdul Nasir and Mohammad Junaid contributed 40 and 38 runs, respectively.
For Central Punjab, Fahad Munir and Kamran Afzal grabbed three wickets apiece.
At Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Southern Punjab beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 87 runs. Batting first, Southern Punjab scored 311 for five in 45 overs. Mukhtar Ahmed top-scored with 85 off 101, hitting five fours and two sixes. His opening partner Zeeshan Ashraf scored 60 off 62, laced with four fours and as many sixes. The pair knitted 119 runs for the opening wicket.
Rameez Alam coming to bat at number three returned undefeated on 61 off 55, which included three fours and two sixes. Captain Moinuddin got retired hurt not before contributing a quick-fire 22-ball 49, laced with five fours and three sixes.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Atizaz Habib Khan and Mohammad Imran grabbed two wickets apiece.
In return, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were dismissed for 224 in the 41st over with Mohammad Sarwar Afridi contributing 67 off 61 balls, which included four fours and three sixes. Fazal-ur-Rehman scored a 50-ball 54, hitting six fours and two sixes.
For Southern Punjab, Umar Khan picked three for 41, while Ahmed Hasan, Ali Majid and Mohammad Irfan grabbed two wickets each.
Sindh topped the points table with four wins out of five and earned eight points. Central Punjab and Southern Punjab got six points each from three wins, but on better net run-rate Central Punjab finished on the second spot. Northern and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ended-up with four points each from two wins in the tournament, but on better net run-rate Northern finished on the fourth position. Balochistan with one win from five outings in the tournament ended-up on the sixth spot.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Aamer Azmat topped the batting charts scoring 335 runs from five matches at 67. The right-handed batter hit one century and one half-century. In the bowling charts, Mohammad Irfan Jnr representing Central Punjab took nine wickets from five matches. The 27-year-old right-arm fast best figures in an innings was four for 25.
Scores in brief:
Sindh beat Northern by five wickets at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Northern 259-5, 45 overs (Ali Sarfraz 57 not out, Aqib Shah 57, Taimoor Sultan 51, Nasir Nawaz 42; Hasan Mohsin 3-50)
Sindh 260-5, 42.3 overs (Usman Khan 116, Ammad Alam 45, Danish Aziz 32; Nasir Nawaz 2-45)
Central Punjab beat Balochistan by 98 runs at LCCA Ground, Lahore
Central Punjab 321-7, 45 overs (Mohammad Faizan 94, Muhammad Akhlaq 61, Abdul Samad 58, Saad Nasim 47; Tariq Jameel 2-79)
Balochistan 223 all out, 38 overs (Gulraiz Sadaf 75, Abdul Nasir 40, Mohammad Junaid 38; Kamran Afzal 3-30, Fahad Munir 3-53)
Southern Punjab beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 87 runs at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Southern Punjab 311-5, 45 overs (Mukhtar Ahmed 85, Rameez Alam 61, Zeeshan Ashraf 60, Moinuddin 49 retired hurt; Atizaz Habib Khan 2-44, Mohammad Imran 2-63)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 224 all out, 40.3 overs (Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 67, Fazal-ur-Rehman 54, Atizaz Habib Khan 34 not out; Umar Khan 3-41, Ahmed Hasan 2-28, Mohammad Irfan 2-36, Ali Majid 2-43)
