That’s all from our end as well. FATA managed to break their 4-match losing streak. Thank you for staying with us throughout the game. For now, this is Deepak Prakash signing off on behalf of my co-commentator Saptak Sanyal, and scorer/analyst Zeeshan Naiyer. CHEERS!
Khushdil Shah(FATA Captain)- "I am very happy with the win. We did great in the fielding. Ahmed Shehzad's run-out became a turning point.
We would've batted first and looked to post good total on the board. Maaz bowled really well. Maaz was injured and he felt that he can play today so we gave him an opportunity and he cashed in.
We will try to do our best in the remaining games. I think we have a good chance to qualify for the semifinals."
Saad Nasim (Lahore Whites Captain):"We thought we would bat first and set a good target but the plan didn't work for us today, let's see we will look to change our playing combination in the next match. The ball was gripping a bit on the pitch so we failed to read the pitch and we will try to improve in the next game."
Samiullah JNR(Player of the Match)-"I want to give the credit to my coaches who believed in me and backed me to play at this level. I went as per the plans given by our coaches.
My intent became changed when we lost two wickets. Our coaching staff helped us with the strategies and we went home."
Player of the Match- Samiullah JNR
Outstanding performance of the match- Maaz Khan
Time for the Post-Match Presentations.
6:20 PM IST, 5:40 PM Local Time: Finally, FATA managed to break their 4-match losing streak, defeating Lahore Whites by 7 wickets with 33 balls to spare.
Earlier, opting to bat first backfired for Lahore Whites as they were restricted to a paltry 118/6 in 20 overs. They got off to a decent start, but the run out of Ahmed Shehzad (22 off 18) proved to be the turning point of the innings as the Whites struggled to score runs at a decent pace in the middle overs and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. However, Mohammad Irfan’s valuable 26* runs off 17 balls at the cue end of the innings have crawled Lahore to a respectable 118/6 in 20 overs.
Maaz Khan shone with the ball for FATA, taking a couple of wickets, while Irfanullah Shah, Sameen Gul, and Asif Ali SNR contributed one wicket.
In pursuit of a paltry 118 runs, FATA got off to a shaky start as they lost Rehan Afridi and Salman Khan JNR straightaway in the first over of the innings.
Samiullah Jnr and Kashif Noor started building the partnership in the middle, and the duo scored at a decent pace, adding 60+ runs for the third wicket. Samiullah notched up his half-century on the occasion, but Noor departed for 15 runs off 18 balls.
Samiullah(71 off 51) paired up with Khushdil Shah (27* off 19) and continued his merry ways. The duo remained unbeaten till the end and helped their side chase down this total with 33 balls to spare.
Mohammad Amir Khan scalped a couple of wickets straightaway in the first over of the innings for Lahore, but they failed to carry the momentum and let FATA batters settle at the crease. Saad Nasim celebrated a solitary wicket but it was too late for them by then.