LAHORE, 10th Nov 2023: The fifth round of Pakistan Cup 2023-24, played at four venues across Rawalpindi, AJK and Abbottabad had Peshawar, Karachi Whites, Multan and FATA emerge on top in their respective games.
The only game of the round not affected by bad weather saw FATA defeating Lahore Whites by six wickets in a low-scoring match. The other three matches were impacted by weather and bad light, and results were produced on DLS method. Saim Ayub’s brilliant century took Karachi Whites to a 72-run win over Rawalpindi. Peshawar inflicted a 68-run win over Faisalabad, while Multan defeated Lahore Blues by 37 runs.
After being put into bat first, Peshawar scored 264 all out in 45 overs against Faisalabad at Pindi Cricket Stadium. Captain Sahibzada Farhan (66) and Kamran Ghulam (63) were the top scorers for the side. Arshad Iqbal registered a five-wicket haul. Faheem Ashraf and Ali Shan, who were involved in a collision, went off the field after suspected concussion. M Huraira was named Faheem’s replacement, while Irfan Khan Niazi replaced Ali Shan. In return, Faisalabad could only get to 142-7 in 27.3 overs before no further play was possible due to bad light.
Karachi Whites scored a mammoth total of 364-7 in the allotted 45 overs after they were invited to bat first by Rawalpindi at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium. Saim Ayub was the star of the show, smashing 179 off 125, including 15 fours and 11 sixes. This is the highest individual score of this edition of the competition so far. Asad Shafiq struck 57. All seven of the Rawalpindi bowlers returned with a wicket each. In return, Rawalpindi only managed 169-5 in 27 overs before rain interfered.
In the rain-impacted game, Lahore Blues got to 257-7 in the stipulated 40 overs after Multan won the toss and elected to bowl first at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Hussain Talat (70) and Rizwan Hussain (62) played well. Tahir Hussain was the pick of the bowlers for Multan, accounting for three wickets. Multan could only bat for 21.2 overs, before weather conditions disallowed further play. They scored 163-4, on the back of Sharjeel Khan’s (82).
FATA’s decision to bowl first worked in their favor as they bowled Lahore Whites out for only 128 in 38.1 overs at Mirpur Cricket Stadium. Ahmed Daniyal was the highest scorer for the side, hitting 32 off 42, including 3 fours and a six. Fahad Munir added 27 off 44. Asif Afridi and Khushdil Shah took three wickets each and Shahid Aziz also had two to his name. In turn, FATA scored 130-4 in 22.1 overs. M Farooq (40), M Sarwar Afridi (34) and Samiullah Jnr (33) were the major contributors with the bat. M Rameez Jnr grabbed two wickets.
Reference Link: https://www.nation.com.pk/10-Nov-2023/saim-ayub-scores-179-in-pakistan-cup
