Mohammad Rizwan-led Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) clinched the National T20 Cup 2020 trophy, beating Southern Punjab in the final by ten runs. Shoaib Malik was the star performer for the triumphant side.
Southern Punjab skipper Shan Masood chose to field after winning the toss. The decision didn’t go well for his side as the KPK skipper Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman put up a 61-run stand in the first seven overs.
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After Rizwan’s dismissal, Mohammad Hafeez (38 off 26 balls) built a healthy relationship with Fakhar Zaman (67 off 40 balls).
The best was yet to come for KPK as the senior all-rounder Shoaib Malik raced to the fastest fifty of his T20 career. He struck four maximums and three boundaries in his 22-ball 56. KPK finished strong at 206/4 in their 20 overs quota.
For Southern Punjab, Amir Yameen, Zahid Mahmood, and Mohammad Imran picked up one wicket each.
Chase started with a couple of early wickets for Shan Masood’s side. The skipper (7 off 7 balls) and Zeeshan Ashraf (16 off 19 balls) could manage only 19 runs on the board. Inform batsman Sohaib Maqsood returned to the hut for a golden duck.
Hussain Talat (63 off 33 balls) and Khushdil Shah (34 off 24 balls) stitched in for a healthy partnership. After their departure, Southern Punjab had no real fight to put on still Mohammad Imran’s late blitz took the game closed, and the all-rounder finished at 34* of 13 balls. Southern Punjab fell short of ten runs handing Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) the National T20 Cup 2020 title.
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At the final presentation, it was all about the KPK. Shoaib Malik won the man of the match award. Shaheen Afridi (KPK) was the leading wicket-taker with 20 scalps to his name, while opening batsman Fakhar Zaman (KPK) led the batting charts with 420 runs in the competition.
KPK skipper Mohammad Rizwan was the best wicketkeeper of the National T20 Cup 2020 with ten catches and two stumpings to his name. Also, the same side was crowned the best fielding side of the tournament.