167/5 (15.1)
CR : 11.01
165/9 (20.0)
CR : 8.25
Karachi Region Whites won by 5 wickets 🏆
Player of the Match
Abdullah Fazal
88(41)
15.1
4
H Nazar to H Arshad
FOUR! DISMISSED! DONE AND DUSTED! Over the wicket. Full and around off. Arshad gets down and picks it up. Uses his long levers and smashes it over the bowler's head for a boundary to seal the deal. KARACHI REGION WHITES HAVE CRUSHED SIALKOT REGION IN THE FIRST SEMI-FINAL OF PAKISTAN NATIONAL T20 2026 BY 5 WICKETS WITH 29 BALLS TO SPARE!! THEY GET A PLACE IN THE FINAL!!
Over 16
Karachi Region Whites 167/5
Haroon Arshad15(9)
Danish Aziz7(6)
Hamza Nazar1-43(3.1)
KARW won by 5 wickets
8:45 PM IST and 8:15 PM Local Time: Karachi Whites won by 5 wickets. It has been one of the chases of the tournament. Led by Abdullah Fazal who has played one of the knocks of his young career. The other batters did not look as comfortable but the way he was smashing the bowlers, it looked like he was playing on a different pitch.
Earlier in the day, Sialkot won the toss and elected to bat first. Their openers started off with a bang and notched up 31 runs in 3 overs. However, the wickets of Mohsin Riaz and Abdullah Shafique slowed down the scoring as after the powerplay they could only manage 50/2.
The scoring further slowed down with the introduction of the spinners. Khawaja Arham and Hassan Nawaz stitched 42 runs but took 39 balls for that and just as they were about to attack, both batters were taken out. Arham scored 40 off 33 balls. Hassan scored 43 off 33 balls.
The middle order could not stand up to the task as the spinners kept on bamboozling each batter. At Hassan Nawaz's wicket, Sialkot were struggling at 118/6. Ali Fazal and Usama Mir got some strokes away and pushed the score to 155. Some stunning death bowling though from Muhammad Umar restricted the team to 165 for 9 in 20 overs. The pick of the bowlers for the Karachi Whites were Muhammad Umar (3-29), Muhammad Asghar (2-23) and Saqib Khan (1-22).
With the wickets slowing down it felt like 165 was a decent score and defendable of Sialkot start well with the ball. Well, that is exactly what they were not able to do. The Karachi Whites openers batted at some tempo. Breathtaking hitting from both Abdullah Fazal and Saud Shakeel. They raced to 92 in just 7 overs.
They kept finding boundaries for fun and made it look rather too easy. At the beginning of the 8th over, Saud fell for a well made 45 off just 21. A flurry of wickets followed as the middle order could not contribute much. However, with Fazal continuing some extraordinary batting at the other end, the pressure never got to the Karachi Whites.
In all honesty, the first 7 overs killed the chase to a large extent. Others were struggling but as soon as Fazal came on strike he tonked the bowlers for sixes as if the pitch was a different one for him. He unfortunately was dismissed for 88 but had brought the required runs down to 20 by then.
The Karachi Whites crossed the finishing line with 29 balls to spare. The pick of the bowlers for Sialkot was Usama Mir with his 3-46. Apart from that no one could strike wickets regularly. Mir too had to face a lot of bashing from the blade of Fazal. With that win Karachi Whites have raced to the finals.
Earlier in the day, Sialkot won the toss and elected to bat first. Their openers started off with a bang and notched up 31 runs in 3 overs. However, the wickets of Mohsin Riaz and Abdullah Shafique slowed down the scoring as after the powerplay they could only manage 50/2.
The scoring further slowed down with the introduction of the spinners. Khawaja Arham and Hassan Nawaz stitched 42 runs but took 39 balls for that and just as they were about to attack, both batters were taken out. Arham scored 40 off 33 balls. Hassan scored 43 off 33 balls.
The middle order could not stand up to the task as the spinners kept on bamboozling each batter. At Hassan Nawaz's wicket, Sialkot were struggling at 118/6. Ali Fazal and Usama Mir got some strokes away and pushed the score to 155. Some stunning death bowling though from Muhammad Umar restricted the team to 165 for 9 in 20 overs. The pick of the bowlers for the Karachi Whites were Muhammad Umar (3-29), Muhammad Asghar (2-23) and Saqib Khan (1-22).
With the wickets slowing down it felt like 165 was a decent score and defendable of Sialkot start well with the ball. Well, that is exactly what they were not able to do. The Karachi Whites openers batted at some tempo. Breathtaking hitting from both Abdullah Fazal and Saud Shakeel. They raced to 92 in just 7 overs.
They kept finding boundaries for fun and made it look rather too easy. At the beginning of the 8th over, Saud fell for a well made 45 off just 21. A flurry of wickets followed as the middle order could not contribute much. However, with Fazal continuing some extraordinary batting at the other end, the pressure never got to the Karachi Whites.
In all honesty, the first 7 overs killed the chase to a large extent. Others were struggling but as soon as Fazal came on strike he tonked the bowlers for sixes as if the pitch was a different one for him. He unfortunately was dismissed for 88 but had brought the required runs down to 20 by then.
The Karachi Whites crossed the finishing line with 29 balls to spare. The pick of the bowlers for Sialkot was Usama Mir with his 3-46. Apart from that no one could strike wickets regularly. Mir too had to face a lot of bashing from the blade of Fazal. With that win Karachi Whites have raced to the finals.
Time for the Post-Match Presentations...
PLAYER OF THE MATCH: ABDULLAH FAZAL
Abdullah Fazal (Player of the Match): (On how he feels after taking the team to the final) “First of all, I thank Allah. I’m grateful that Allah made me Player of the Match for the second time. My aim is always to contribute to the team, whether it’s 10 runs or 50 runs. If it helps finish the match, that’s what matters. I’m thankful that so far, my contributions have been match-winning, and I’ve been named Player of the Match while chasing.
(On how he stays calm while batting at a high strike rate) A lot of work happens behind the scenes in our camps. I try to follow my strengths. The team management and captain have given me a clear role - to bat as long as possible and take the game deep. That helps the team.
(On missing out on a century) Yes, of course, it would have been even better if the century had come. It would have been the cherry on top. But I’m thankful for the runs I scored for the team.
(On batting with Saud Shakeel) It was a pleasure batting with him. I learn a lot from him. Being a left-hander, there are many things I can learn from watching him.
(On preparing for the final) Yes, of course. We will mentally prepare ourselves for the final tomorrow, InshaAllah.”
(On how he stays calm while batting at a high strike rate) A lot of work happens behind the scenes in our camps. I try to follow my strengths. The team management and captain have given me a clear role - to bat as long as possible and take the game deep. That helps the team.
(On missing out on a century) Yes, of course, it would have been even better if the century had come. It would have been the cherry on top. But I’m thankful for the runs I scored for the team.
(On batting with Saud Shakeel) It was a pleasure batting with him. I learn a lot from him. Being a left-hander, there are many things I can learn from watching him.
(On preparing for the final) Yes, of course. We will mentally prepare ourselves for the final tomorrow, InshaAllah.”
Usama Mir (Sialkot Region Captain): "(Thoughts on the loss) It is part of the game. We tried, throughout the tournament we have played well but had an unfortunate off day today. Karachi deserves credit as they played much better than us.
(Where did the game go out of hand?) In the middle overs we lost back to back wickets and that cost the match. Hopefully, next year we will execute better. We would like to work on game awareness next year.
(Thoughts on his campaign with the ball) Yes, I had a good tournament with the ball. Though as a team we could not achieve our goal."
(Where did the game go out of hand?) In the middle overs we lost back to back wickets and that cost the match. Hopefully, next year we will execute better. We would like to work on game awareness next year.
(Thoughts on his campaign with the ball) Yes, I had a good tournament with the ball. Though as a team we could not achieve our goal."
Saud Shakeel (Karachi Region Whites Captain): (On areas where the team could improve despite the strong performance) “I think in bowling, we could have been slightly better. At a few places, we slipped a bit. The fasting factor also comes into play. In batting as well, if we had finished the match two or three overs earlier, it would have been more clinical considering the start we got. But in the end, everyone contributed with the bat, which is a positive sign because many of my batters haven’t spent much time in the middle.
(On whether the aggressive batting after his dismissal was part of the plan) Yes, that was part of the plan. It was very clear to us that if we got such a start, we should carry it forward. We have kept the batting lineup deep, so we wanted to take advantage of that. So it was definitely part of the plan.
(On his own approach while starting the chase) When you are chasing such a target, you try to put the opposition on the back foot early if you can take advantage of the powerplay. That’s what we planned. We targeted a particular bowler, and that worked in our favour.
(On Abdullah Fazal stepping up in a big match) It’s always pleasing when a player performs in a big match on a big occasion. If you look at the whole season, Abdullah Fazal and Haroon Arshad have also performed well in first-class cricket. We had targeted a few players like Abdullah Fazal to bring them forward and back them. I would definitely like to mention Mohammad Umar. The way he has bowled throughout the tournament has been impressive. I feel he deserves the attention of a PSL franchise. Even now, there’s still time, and if he performs well in the final, many people will be watching.
(On the approach for the final) Finals are about keeping things simple. On that day, whichever team plays better cricket will win. We believe in our process and will give our best effort. The rest is in Allah’s hands.”
(On whether the aggressive batting after his dismissal was part of the plan) Yes, that was part of the plan. It was very clear to us that if we got such a start, we should carry it forward. We have kept the batting lineup deep, so we wanted to take advantage of that. So it was definitely part of the plan.
(On his own approach while starting the chase) When you are chasing such a target, you try to put the opposition on the back foot early if you can take advantage of the powerplay. That’s what we planned. We targeted a particular bowler, and that worked in our favour.
(On Abdullah Fazal stepping up in a big match) It’s always pleasing when a player performs in a big match on a big occasion. If you look at the whole season, Abdullah Fazal and Haroon Arshad have also performed well in first-class cricket. We had targeted a few players like Abdullah Fazal to bring them forward and back them. I would definitely like to mention Mohammad Umar. The way he has bowled throughout the tournament has been impressive. I feel he deserves the attention of a PSL franchise. Even now, there’s still time, and if he performs well in the final, many people will be watching.
(On the approach for the final) Finals are about keeping things simple. On that day, whichever team plays better cricket will win. We believe in our process and will give our best effort. The rest is in Allah’s hands.”
We have one finalist confirmed with that drubbing inflicted by the Karachi Whites. Sialkot had a superb campaign but just could not play to their potential on the big day.
We have another semifinal lined up. Abbottabad will take on the Lahore Whites and that should be a cracker too.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to sign off on behalf of my colleagues Dev Rajawat and Sachin Yadav. B-byeee
We have another semifinal lined up. Abbottabad will take on the Lahore Whites and that should be a cracker too.
On this note, I, Manan Mehta would like to sign off on behalf of my colleagues Dev Rajawat and Sachin Yadav. B-byeee