Karachi and Multan Triumph on Opening Day of Pepsi National PD T20 Championship – Day 1

Pepsi National PD T20 Cricket Championship: Victories for Karachi and Multan

On the opening day, Lahore and Quetta suffer defeats – Karachi’s Ali Asker’s match-winning bowling, fifties by Juman and Matloob

Karachi (Sports Reporter): Karachi and Multan won their respective matches on the opening day of the Pepsi National PD T20 Cricket Championship. The championship, organized by the Pakistan Physical Disability Cricket Association, commenced yesterday at the Rashid Latif Cricket Academy (RLCA) Ground, Gulberg, where Lahore and Quetta faced defeats.

On the occasion, Pakistan Physical Disability Cricket Association President Imran Bulwani, Secretary General and Event Director Ameeruddin Ansari, Head Coach Sabih Azhar, Quetta Region Head Aslam Bareach, Lahore-Sialkot Region Head Javed Ashraf, Muhammad Nizam, and others were present.

In the first match, hosts Karachi defeated Lahore by 17 runs in an exciting contest to make a winning start. Batting first, Karachi scored 148 runs for the loss of 6 wickets. Arifeen Arshad made 49 runs, Umar Farooq 28, and captain Waheed Khan 17. For Lahore, Shahid Ali and Muhammad Bilal took 2 wickets each, while Shahid Nazir and Shahid Wattoo claimed 1 wicket each.

In reply, Lahore’s innings ended at 131 for 8. Shahid Ali scored 30 runs, Muhammad Shehbaz 24, Umar Siddique 20, and Shahid Wattoo 16. For Karachi, Ali Asker was the star with 4 wickets, while Kamran Khan, Anas Altaf, and Haroon Rasheed took 1 wicket each. Guest of honour, national disabled cricket team head coach Sabih Azhar, presented Karachi’s Ali Asker with the Player of the Match award.

In the second match, defending champions Multan easily defeated Quetta by 8 wickets. Batting first, Quetta posted 151 runs for 7 wickets. For Quetta, Juman Shah played an outstanding knock of 71 runs off 52 balls, hitting 7 fours and 3 sixes, while Junaid Hassan scored 26 runs. For Multan, Asif Khichi took 3 wickets, while Muhammad Irfan, Muhammad Tariq, and Muhammad Asif picked up 1 wicket each.

In reply, Multan chased the target in 17 overs with 3 wickets down, scoring 154 runs. Captain Matloob Qureshi made 54 runs off 39 balls with 6 fours, Majid Hussain scored 49 runs with 9 fours, and Muhammad Shehzad played a fine innings of 39 runs off 20 balls, including 1 six and 6 fours. Guest of honour for the second match, Quetta Region Head Aslam Bareach, presented Matloob Qureshi with the Player of the Match award.

The matches were supervised by Waseemuddin and Muhammad Rehan, with Shakeel Sajjad serving as match referee. On the second day, Karachi will face Multan in the first match, while Quetta will take on Lahore in the second match.