ISLAMABAD Lahore defeated Bahawalpur in the final to clinch the 14th edition of National Bank of Pakistan T20 Blind Cricket Trophy 2023 Grade-1 at Shalimar Cricket Ground Islamabad on Friday.
Lahore won the toss and put Bahawalpur into bat. Bahawalpur openers Muhammad Rashid and Moain Aslam gave their team a brisk and solid start. Their first wicket fell at 161 runs when Muhammad Rashid was run out after scoring 93 runs off 54 balls. Moain Aslam and Zafar Iqbal then made another formidable partnership. Bahawalpur posted a mammoth total of 231 runs on the board in the stipulated 20 overs for the loss of just two wickets. Maoin Aslam made 85 runs off 53 balls and Zafar Iqbal played a little cameo of 22 runs off 9 balls.
Lahore in reply played exceptionally well and chased the target in the last over of the innings in a nail-biting finish for the loss of one wicket. Badar Munir’s exceptional form with the bat continued as he remained unbeaten on 123 runs off just 70 balls, hitting boundaries, while Muhammad
Salman played a handy innings of 76 runs off 40 balls to guide their side home. Muhammad Ejaz was the only bowler from Bahawalpur to claim a wicket.
Result: Lahore won by 9 wickets
Man of the Match: Badar Munir
Rao Abid (Senior Vice President NBP Islamabad Region, Syed Sultan Shah, President World Blind Cricket Ltd and Chairman Pakistan Blind Cricket Council, Abdur Razziq Khattak General Manager CSR OGDL, Syed Salman Bokhari, Director Cricket Operations PBCC, Shahzad Deputy Director Sports CDA, who attended the closing ceremony distributed prizes amongst the players.
Player of the Tournament:
B1: Zafar Iqbal (Bahawalpur)
B2: Badar Munir (Lahore)
B3: Muhammad Rashid (Bahawalpur)
Best Wicket Keeper: Ismail Shah (Peshawar).