164/3 (19.5)
CR : 8.27
163/10 (19.5)
CR : 8.22
Sialkot Region won by 7 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Hasan Nawaz
80(40)
19.5
2
A Yamin to H Nawaz
Punches it into the gap. The fielder in the deep fumbles. That allows Nawaz to come back for the second run. Sialkot Region win! HASAN NAWAZ IS THE HERO! The players from the dugout rush onto the park and surround Nawaz. Hugs and high-fives galore. The crowd will not forget this stunning knock for a long long time. Imam looks frustrated — one can understand his emotions too. Hard length ball outside off. Nawaz jabbed it away towards deep cover, where Arafat Minhas — who had almost single-handedly brought Multan region back into the game — misfielded under pressure. Sialkot Region have chased the target down with one ball remaining and qualify for the semifinals. Multan have been knocked out.
Over 20
Sialkot Region 164/3
Hasan Nawaz80(40)
Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti3(4)
Aamer Yamin1-41(3.5)
SIAL won by 7 wickets
01:42 AM IST & 1:12 PM Local Time: What scenes in Peshawar as the Sialkot Region players run onto the field to hog the man of the moment, Hasan Nawaz. A stunning, stunning seven-wicket win from Sialkot Region over the Multan Region to qualify for the semi-finals!
Chasing 164 for victory, Sialkot got off to a decent start from the opening pair of Mirza Tahir Baig and Khawaja Arham as they moved to 35/0 at the end of four overs. However, the introduction of Moheer Saeed and Arafat Minhas brought down the run-scoring drastically. The pressure eventually paid off with Arham being dismissed for 32 (21) with Saeed striking at the end of the ninth over. A couple of deliveries later, Arafat Minhas got rid of Mirza Tahir Baig who had struggled for his 29 (35) to get Multan Region ahead in the game big time.
Thereafter too, the asking rate only kept rising with both Abdullah Shafique and Hasan Nawaz not able to get going immediately. Even as Shafique got out to Aamer Yamin in the 16th over, Nawaz got his eye in by that time which got the Sialkot dug-out up and going. The task was still difficult with Sialkot requiring 63 off the last 24 balls. However, Nawaz took the game till the end and particularly capitalized on the penultimate over bowled by Siraj Uddin which went for 23 runs. Sialkot needed 13 off the final over and Nawaz struck a couple of boundaries within the first four balls before taking a brace to seal the game with a ball to spare.
Earlier in the match, it was largely a one-man show for the Multan Region with their skipper Imam-ul-Haq stepping up to the plate. After getting his team to 45/1 at the end of the Powerplay, Imam regularly produced boundaries to keep the Multan run-rate up despite getting no support from his team-mates.
The only decent contribution came from Bismillah Khan who stitched a 48-run partnership during the middle-overs to give Multan hope of a target around 180-190. But the duo of Usama Mir and Sufiyan Muqeem accounted for Bismillah and Imam's wickets off consecutive overs to put a road-block. The Sialkot seamers were also exceptional with their execution during the slog overs to handicap Multan. Shoaib Akhtar, in particular, starred with a double-wicket maiden in the 19th over which meant that Multan could only finish with 163/10 as Siraj Uddin got run-out on the penultimate ball of the innings.
Chasing 164 for victory, Sialkot got off to a decent start from the opening pair of Mirza Tahir Baig and Khawaja Arham as they moved to 35/0 at the end of four overs. However, the introduction of Moheer Saeed and Arafat Minhas brought down the run-scoring drastically. The pressure eventually paid off with Arham being dismissed for 32 (21) with Saeed striking at the end of the ninth over. A couple of deliveries later, Arafat Minhas got rid of Mirza Tahir Baig who had struggled for his 29 (35) to get Multan Region ahead in the game big time.
Thereafter too, the asking rate only kept rising with both Abdullah Shafique and Hasan Nawaz not able to get going immediately. Even as Shafique got out to Aamer Yamin in the 16th over, Nawaz got his eye in by that time which got the Sialkot dug-out up and going. The task was still difficult with Sialkot requiring 63 off the last 24 balls. However, Nawaz took the game till the end and particularly capitalized on the penultimate over bowled by Siraj Uddin which went for 23 runs. Sialkot needed 13 off the final over and Nawaz struck a couple of boundaries within the first four balls before taking a brace to seal the game with a ball to spare.
Earlier in the match, it was largely a one-man show for the Multan Region with their skipper Imam-ul-Haq stepping up to the plate. After getting his team to 45/1 at the end of the Powerplay, Imam regularly produced boundaries to keep the Multan run-rate up despite getting no support from his team-mates.
The only decent contribution came from Bismillah Khan who stitched a 48-run partnership during the middle-overs to give Multan hope of a target around 180-190. But the duo of Usama Mir and Sufiyan Muqeem accounted for Bismillah and Imam's wickets off consecutive overs to put a road-block. The Sialkot seamers were also exceptional with their execution during the slog overs to handicap Multan. Shoaib Akhtar, in particular, starred with a double-wicket maiden in the 19th over which meant that Multan could only finish with 163/10 as Siraj Uddin got run-out on the penultimate ball of the innings.
Time for the Post-match Presentation!
Player of the Match: Hasan Nawaz
Hasan Nawaz (Player of the Match): "(The secret behind success?) I believed in myself. You know that I have won such matches in the PSL. So, I just kept myself calm. I knew that there were young bowlers in the opposition. So I knew my chance will come.
(Conversation when he arrived at the crease) The spinners were bowling in really good areas. The pitch was supporting them too. We wanted to take it till the end. Abdullah got out, but we were able to win it and I am happy about it.
(Believed that they could chase any score towards the end?) You can't chase down in such a situation if you do not believe in yourself."
(Conversation when he arrived at the crease) The spinners were bowling in really good areas. The pitch was supporting them too. We wanted to take it till the end. Abdullah got out, but we were able to win it and I am happy about it.
(Believed that they could chase any score towards the end?) You can't chase down in such a situation if you do not believe in yourself."
Imam-ul-Haq (Multan Region Captain): "(First thoughts) Short of words. But this is the speciality of T20 cricket. We were a few runs short. I was set but got out at a crucial point. Till the 15-16th over, things were in our hands but it was a special innings from Hasan Nawaz. Credit goes to him.
(What they could have done better?) Mohammad Ali and Shoaib Akhtar bowled well during the last four overs, that was a phase where we could still have done better. If we had a run-out or a great catch, things could have gone in our way. Game of margins.
(What they could have done better?) Mohammad Ali and Shoaib Akhtar bowled well during the last four overs, that was a phase where we could still have done better. If we had a run-out or a great catch, things could have gone in our way. Game of margins.
Usama Mir (Sialkot Region captain): "(Was it tensed in the dugout?) When you're involved in such a contest, you feel the tension. We were indeed tensed. We believed in Hasan (Nawaz). But the required rate was very high. You tend to think, "what if Hasan gets out?" But he played a special innings.
(What was the plan in the middle phase?) Arafat (Minhas) bowled really well. So the plan was to not attack the spinners that much. We knew that the fast bowlers will be brought on later. Unfortunately, Abdullah (Shafique) could not take it deep, but Hasan did the job.
(On the upcoming semifinal against Karachi Whites) The morale will obviously be high after a win like this. We will come tomorrow for the semifinal and hopefully do well."
(What was the plan in the middle phase?) Arafat (Minhas) bowled really well. So the plan was to not attack the spinners that much. We knew that the fast bowlers will be brought on later. Unfortunately, Abdullah (Shafique) could not take it deep, but Hasan did the job.
(On the upcoming semifinal against Karachi Whites) The morale will obviously be high after a win like this. We will come tomorrow for the semifinal and hopefully do well."
So, that is it from that exhilarating National T20 game which saw Multan Region knocked out and importantly Sialkot Region stage a heist to qualify for the semi-finals. It is time for myself, Karthik Raj and my co-commentator, Darpan Tikiya to bid adieu. A note of thanks to our scorer, Danish Elahi as well. Do stay tuned and join us on Tuesday for more exciting cricketing action!