Ahmed Shehzad’s 111 help Central Punjab chase Northern’s 222

Faisalabad,: An unbeaten 111 from 63 balls by Ahmed Shehzad helped Central Punjab to a four-wicket win over Northern in the fifth fixture of the ongoing National T20 Cup at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium.

Set a target of 223, Central Punjab chased down the total on the penultimate ball of the match.

Opener Ahmed played an instrumental role in the run-chase, hitting 13 fours and three sixes to guide his team to their first win of the tournament.

The next best scorer in the Central Punjab’s innings was Saad Nasim, who made 29 from 20 balls with three fours and a six.

Faheem Ashraf lofted two sixes and a four in his 28, which came off 16 balls.

Northern’s captain Imad Wasim was the pick of the bowlers with three for 38.

That Northern had set 222 for six in 20 overs – after deciding to bat – was because of Asif Ali, who struck a blistering 93 off 35 balls with four fours and 10 sixes.

Mohammad Nawaz scored 51 off 35 balls, cracking four sixes and a four as the pair stitched a 107-run partnership for the third-wicket.

Faheem took three wickets for 44 runs.

Waqas Maqsood, Nasim Shah and Usman Qadir took a wicket each.

Scores in brief:

Northern 222-6, 20 overs (Asif Ali 93, Mohammad Nawaz 51, Umar Amin 38, Imad Wasim 22; Faheem Ashraf 3-44)

Central Punjab 226-6, 19.5 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 111, Saad Nasim 29, Faheem Ashraf 28, Rizwan Hussain 20; Imad Wasim 3-38, Sohail Tanvir 2-50)