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This is Sindh’s first win over Southern Punjab in four games
Sindh 179 for 5 (Manzoor 84, Anwar 29*, Naseem 1-28) beat Southern Punjab 175 for 7 (Yamin 43, Zeeshan 34, Hasnain 2-40) by three wickets
A 49-ball 84 from Khurram Manzoor helped get Sindh off to a winning start, triumphing over Southern Punjab for the first time in four games.
In a high-scoring contest in Rawalpindi, Southern Punjab got off to a flyer after being put in to bat, thanks to a blistering cameo from Zeeshan Ashraf. Sindh began to pull things back after the powerplay with regular wickets, Mohammad Hasnain coming back strongly after an errant first over to get rid of Zain Abbas at the top of the innings and a dangerous Aamer Yamin at the end.
The middle was controlled by legspinner Zahid Mahmood, who turned in a masterclass to allow just 25 runs in his spell and putting paid to Zeeshan’s innings before it got out of control. Yamin had injected some impetus back into Southern Punjab by smashing 43 off 26 and setting Sindh 176 for victory.
Unlike Southern Punjab, Sindh had, in Manzoor, someone who hung around and scored big right through the innings. A poor start from Shan Masood and Sharjeel Khan was quickly forgotten about as Manzoor settled into gear, dominating a 50-run third-wicket partnership with Sarfaraz Ahmed as they got back in control of the asking rate.
Southern Punjab’s bowlers were never able to make breakthroughs in the way their Sindh counterparts had, even if Manzoor’s dismissal in the 17th over offered hope. However, Anwar Ali stepped in decisively to quash it, a whirlwind 41-run partnership off 15 balls at the death ensuring Sindh got home with four balls to spare.