Wahab Riaz leads Southern Punjab to four-wicket win over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Faisalabad: Wahab Riaz’s three for 28 with the ball and an unbeaten 17-ball 42 secured a four-wicket win for Southern Punjab over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium in the sixth match of the National T20 Cup.

Wahab took the wickets of Sahibzada Farhan (27 off 19), Adil Amin (7 off 12) and Iftikhar Ahmad (0 off 2) to leave Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reeling at 51 for four in 8.5 overs.

That Khyber Pakhtunkhwa managed a respectable score was due an 83-run stand between Mohammad Rizwan and Khushdil Shah

Rizwan scored 45 off 40 balls, hitting four fours and a six, while Khushdil cracked an unbeaten 32-ball 56, embellished with five fours and three sixes.

Aamer Yamin and Mohammad Irfan picked up a wicket each as they gave 31 and 19 runs, respectively.

Southern Punjab floundered in the first half of the chase with half of their batting lineup back in the pavilion in 8.5 overs with only 51 runs on board as Mohammad Mohsin took three wickets.

But with his unbeaten 49 off 35 balls, which included four fours and a six, Saif Badar weathered the storm. He crafted a 55-run stand with Aamer (15 off 10).

Any doubts over the success of the run-chase vanished when Wahab joined Saif as the former took control and spanked five fours and two sixes to take Southern Punjab home with four wickets and nine balls spare.

This was Southern Punjab’s first win in the tournament.

Scores in brief:

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 154-5, 20 overs (Khushdil Shah 56 not out, Mohammad Rizwan 45, Sahibzada Farhan 27; Wahab Riaz 3-28)

Southern Punjab 155-6, 18.3 overs (Saif Badar 49 not out, Wahab Riaz 42 not out, Sohaib Maqsood 24; Mohammad Mohsin 3-37)