Pakistan Cup 2021: Northern, Balochistan, Sindh secure crucial victories

Northern, Balochistan and Sindh secured crucial victories in the Pakistan Cup 2021 fixtures in Karachi on Sunday.

At the State Bank Sports Complex, Mohammad Nawaz-led unit secured a comfortable 154-run win over Central Punjab.

After being put in to bat first, Northern posted a mammoth total of 382-8 in their allotted 50 overs.

The star of the show was opener Taimoor Sultan who scored his maiden century and finished the match with the top score of 102 off 94 balls.

He was well-supported by Asif Ali who scored a quick-fire 76 off 41 balls with the help of seven fours and five sixes.

In reply, Central Punjab never really got going and eventually bundled out for just 228 in 37.1 overs.

Last match centurions Muhammad Akhlaq and captain Saad Nasim scored 55 and 53 respectively.

For the winning team, medium-pacer Hammad Azam was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed figures of 4-42.

Farhat stars as Balochistan down Southern Punjab

In the second match of the day, Balochistan beat Southern Punjab in a nail-biting encounter by one wicket.

After being put in to bat first, Sohaib Maqsood-led unit only posted 244 before being bowled out in just 46.2 overs.

All-rounder Aamer Yamin was the top performer for the team as he scored 73 off 81 balls with the help of six fours and two sixes.

In reply, Balochistan chased down the target with five balls to spare, courtesy brilliant 96 from captain Imran Farhat off 107 balls with the help of 11 fours.

For Southern Punjab, leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood was the pick of the bowlers as he claimed figures of 4-46 in 10 overs.

Sindh thrash Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

At the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, Sindh thrashed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) by 63 runs to register their first victory of the competition.

After being put in to bat first, Saud Shakeel-led unit posted a competitive 256-run total on the board, courtesy some late-order resistance from Hassan Khan and Anwar Ali. They scored 66 and 65 off 73 and 42 balls respectively.

For KP, left-arm spinner Asif Afridi was the star performer with the ball in hand as he finished with figures of 5-31.

In reply, the defending champions were bundled out for just 193 in 42.2 overs. Sajid Khan finished the innings with the top score of 52 off 47 balls.

For the winning team, pacer Mohammad Umar was the pick of the bowlers as he finished with figures of 3-21 in eight overs.