ISLAMABAD: Karachi and Abbottabad would vie for the top honour in the final of the National Bank of Pakistan T-20 Blind Cricket Trophy 2023 (Grade-2) at Faisalabad on Sunday.
In the first semifinal, Karachi beat Attock by five wickets at Bohranwali Cricket Ground, Faisalabad, on Saturday. Karachi won the toss and put Attock into bat first. Attcok set a competitive total of 239 runs on the board for the loss of 5 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Ehtisham ul Haq played a fantastic innings of unbeaten 134 runs off 79 balls, and Muhammad Noman made 35 runs off 36 balls. Muhammad Ali Akasha bowled splendidly and took three wickets for Karachi.
In reply, Karachi reached the target on the last ball of the 20th over by losing five wickets. Ayoub Khan once again shined with the bat and played an extraordinary innings of unbeaten 117* runs off 62 balls. Jandal Khan also made a useful contribution of 62 runs off 42 balls. Attock, Muhammad Noman, and Ehtisham ul Haq claimed two wickets each. The Man of the Match wa
s Ayoub Khan.
In the second semifinal, Abbottabad defeated Sargodha by 52 runs. Sargodha won the toss and elected to bowl first. Abbottabad’s openers, Riasat Khan and Naeem Ullah, toiled the weak bowling of Sargodha and both knitted 236 runs for the 1st wicket partnership. Abbottabad posted a gigantic total of 259 runs on the board for the loss of 3 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Riasat Khan played a superb innings of unbeaten 116 runs off 62 balls. Naeem Ullah was the second-highest scorer with 100 runs off 59 balls.
In reply, Sargodha was restricted to 207 runs for the loss of four wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Zain Ashraf was their highest scorer with 68 runs off 50 balls, and Gul Sher made 64 runs off 38 balls. Asnaad Khan took two wickets, and Muhammad Adeel claimed one wicket for Abbottabad. The man of the match was Riasat Khan.