• Central Punjab beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 113 runs.
• They became the first team to qualify for the Pakistan Cup one-day semifinals.
• Southern Punjab beat Sindh by four wickets at the State Bank Stadium.

Central Punjab beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 113 runs at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, They became the first team to qualify for the Pakistan Cup one-day tournament semifinals. After the ninth and penultimate round of matches, four teams were fighting for the last three spots.

CP won for the sixth time, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lost for the fifth time.

Central Punjab won by 113 runs, and Usama Mir’s all-around performance was a big part of that.

After Ahmed Shehzad (71, 91b, 9×4) and Qasim Akram (58, 62b, 5×4, 1×6) helped Central Punjab reach 315 for 8, Usama Mir took 9-1-45-5 to bowl Khyber Pakhtunkhwa out for 202 in 39.1 overs. Iftikhar Ahmed’s 66 and Fakhar Zaman’s 52 were the main contributors to this score.

Usama had already scored 29 runs with four fours and three sixes off of 15 balls.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s last league match will be against Balochistan on Thursday. Northern lost to Balochistan at the UBL Sports Complex by 110 runs. Balochistan now has five wins, while Northern has four wins and eight points after the loss.

Northern was sent on a wild goose chase when Balochistan scored 387 for 7 and then got rid of them for 277.

Haris Sohail hit 92 from 61 balls with six fours and four sixes, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai hit 88 with six fours and five sixes from 70 balls, Imran Butt hit 11 fours in an almost run-a-ball 83, and Haseebullah hit 59 from 55 balls with 11 fours to put Balochistan in a position to set the rules.

Northern couldn’t keep up with the required run rate of 7.76 and fell to 277 all out in 47.3 overs, even though Umair Masood (51) and Umar Akmal (50) both hit 50. (51).

Balochistan’s best bowler was Kashif Bhatti, who took four wickets for 48 runs. Amad Butt and Mohammad Junaid each took two wickets.

Southern Punjab beat Sindh by four wickets at the State Bank Stadium. Northern’s last league game will be against Southern Punjab. Sindh, which still has four wins, will play Central Punjab, which is in first place, on Thursday. Only a win will keep Sindh in the running for a spot in the semi-final.

Sindh was easy for Southern Punjab to get rid of by taking four wickets.

Mohammad Shehzad, Southern Punjab’s opener, hit five fours and four sixes in 96 balls, scoring 85 runs and leading his team to victory with 14.5 overs and four wickets left.

Sindh batted first and scored 171 runs in 47.2 overs. Mohammad Suleman (62) and Danish Aziz (36 runs) were the top scorers for Sindh. Each of Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Islam, Faisal Akram, and Sharoon Siraj took two wickets.

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