FAISALABAD: Half-centuries from Kamran Ghulam and Waqar Ahmed led defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to a five-wicket win over Central Punjab in the opening round match of the Pakistan Cup at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
In the other two fixtures of the first round, Balochistan defeated Northern by two wickets, while Southern Punjab went down to Sindh by one wicket.
Central Punjab vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
After being put into bat, Central Punjab managed to score 215 for nine in their allotted 50 overs. Test opener top-scored with a 60-ball 37, hitting one four and two sixes.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mehran Mumtaz and captain Khalid Usman picked three wickets apiece.
In return, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa achieved the target in the 43rd over for the loss of five wickets. After the early departure of Sahibzada Farhan for nine, Waqar Ahmed was joined by Kamran Ghulam. The pair added 113 runs for the second wicket. Waqar top-scored with a 73-ball 68, which included 10 fours and one six. Kamran scored 56 off 62 balls, striking five fours and two sixes.
Mehran returned unbeaten on 29 off 43 balls, while Adil Amin contributed 28 off 29 balls, hitting two fours and a six.
For Central Punjab, leg-spinner Usman Qadir bagged two wickets for 60.
Sindh vs Southern Punjab
At the Multan Cricket Stadium, in a close contest, Sindh defeated Southern Punjab by one wicket on DLS method. After being put into bat, Southern Punjab were bowled out for 159 in the 42nd over. Aamer Yamin top-scored with an unbeaten run-a-ball 35, which included three fours and one six.
Captain Salman Ali Agha was other notable run-getter with a 46-ball 30. His counterpart left-arm fast Mir Hamza was pick of the bowlers with match figures of four for 25 in 10 overs. He was equally supported by Abrar Ahmed and Muhammad Umar – both sharing five wickets between them.
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