Usama Mir helps Central Punjab to reach into Pakistan Cup final

• Central Punjab beat Southern Punjab by 82 runs to reach the final of the Pakistan Cup.
• Usama Mir took five wickets in 5.1 overs and only gave up 23 runs.
• Tayyab Tahir and Bilawal Bhatti scored half-centuries for Southern Punjab.

Central Punjab beat Southern Punjab by 82 runs at the State Bank Stadium and made it to the final of the Pakistan Cup 2022-23. Usama Mir was a big reason for this.

Usama took five wickets in 5.1 overs and only gave up 23 runs. He now has the most wickets in the tournament.

Tayyab Tahir and Bilawal Bhatti both scored 50s to give Southern Punjab a target of 232, but Usman Salahuddin’s team was out for 149 in 32.1 overs. Teenager Arafat Minhas scored the most runs with 39 off 26 balls.

Aamer Yamin, the captain of Central Punjab, and Zafar Gohar each took two wickets.

Earlier, Central Punjab’s openers were sent back to the pavilion with only 12 on board, but a crucial 62-run partnership between Junaid Ali (23 off 33) and Tayyab (58 off 56, four sixes and two fours) got them out of trouble.

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.@iamusamamir rips through the Southern Punjab batting with 5-23 to help Central Punjab win the semi-final.#CPvSP | #PakistanCup pic.twitter.com/gmcvJzoG8A

— PCB Media (@TheRealPCBMedia) December 31, 2022

Zafar scored 37 off 54 balls, Muhammad Irfan Khan 32 off 51 balls, and Bilawal 51 not out off 48 balls in an innings that contained four fours and two sixes.

Sharoon Siraj, Faisal Akram, Hassan Khan, and Mohammad Ilyas each took two wickets, and Mohammad Ismail accounted for a batter as Central Punjab was bowled out for 231 with four balls to spare.

Central Punjab’s opponents for the 2 January final will be decided on Sunday, when the defending champions, Balochistan, face Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

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