Haider, Nawaz guide Northern to victory against Central Punjab

RAWALPINDI – An impressive batting performance earned Northern a six-wicket win over Central Punjab in the eleventh match of the National T20 played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The opening pair – Nasir Nawaz and Sarmad Hameed – could not give a push to score as both were sent to pavilion at 6 and 19 scores, respectively.

Later, Haider Ali maintained his stunning performance, helping team to chase down a mammoth target of 201 runs. He thrashed unbeaten 91 runs while Mohammad Nawaz also played well as he made 41 runs before he was removed by Hasan Ali.

Northern achieved the target in 19.4 overs, bagging second consecutive victory. 

Earlier, Central Punjab won the toss and elected to bat first. 

Babar Azam had displayed stunning performance helping Central Punjab (CP) set a huge target of 201 runs for Northern.

CP’s opening pair – Ahmed Shehzad and Babar Azam – took an impressive start and their partnership broke at 67 runs after the former was removed by Mohammad Nawaz.

Babar Azam made unbeaten 105 runs while Shoaib Malik also thrashed unbeaten 31 runs off 21 balls.

Azzam has become the top T20 centurion from Pakistan by scoring his 6th T20 hundred while playing against Northern.

Six teams are participating in the series which will be continued till October 13. Shadab Khan is leading Northern, Sindh is led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sohaib Maqsood is with Southern Punjab and Imam-ul-Haq leads the Balochistan team.

Meanwhile, the first leg will run until 3 October in Rawalpindi while the remaining fixture will be played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore. The trophy comes with Rs. Rs.5million while the runners-up will receive Rs.2.5million.

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