KARACHI: Opener Sahibzada Farhan’s 103-run knock helped Khyber Pakhtunkhwa register a seven-wicket victory over Central Punjab to win the 2020/21 Pakistan Cup.
Chasing a target of 240, KP openers, Farhan and Musaddiq Ahmed, were off to an ideal start as they combined for a 69-run opening stand. Amir Azmat came in next for KP, who played a brisk 45-run inning from 28 balls.
The aggressive youngster was clean bowled by Zafar Gohar as he tried to slog sweep the left-arm spinner. Farhan found an able ally in veteran batsman Iftikhar Ahmed to stitch a 69-run partnership, to take KP close to the target.
However, Iftikhar was later caught at long on for 40, on the bowling of all-rounder Qasim Akram. The 24-year-old opener remained calm at the other end and brought up his century to take his team over the line.
Earlier, CP, who were asked to bat first after KP won the toss, were dismissed for 239 in 47 overs. Opener Tayyab Tahir, who scored his third consecutive fifty, top-scored with 67 runs off 88 balls. He’s also now the highest run scorer in the ongoing Pakistan Cup with 666 runs in 12 innings.
For KP, pacer Mohammad Imran bagged three wickets for 42 runs in eight overs. Meanwhile, spinner Asif Afridi was the pick of the bowlers with fantastic figures of 5/39 in 10 overs.
