LAHORE    -     Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Northern have qualified for the semifinals of the National T20 Cup semifinals to be played today (Wednesday) at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

In the first semi-final, first-placed Northern will take on fourth-placed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The second semi-final will see Balochistan, second on the points table, face-off Southern Punjab, who finished number three on the points table.

Earlier, Blistering knocks by Fakhar Zaman and Khushdil Shah helped KP beat Central Punjab by 7 wickets. Fakhar and Khushdil put up unbeaten scores of 82 and 46 – at strike rates of 152 and 177 respectively – to help their side chase down the 178-run target with three balls spare. The defeat knocked Central Punjab out of the tournament.

Fakhar cracked 7 fours and 2 sixes and crafted a 45-run stand with Sahibzada Farhan (17 off 15) for the first-wicket and a 62-run stand for the third-wicket with Iftikhar Ahmed (19 off 20). But, it was Khushdil’s 46 not out off 26 balls, studded with 3 fours and 3 sixes, which settled the match for KP, who needed 68 off 42 when Khushdil took the crease. For his batting exploits, Khushdil was named man-of-the-match.

Earlier, Central Punjab scored 177-3  in 20 overs after they were asked to bat. Their captain Babar Azam starred with 83 runs from 56 balls, hitting five fours and four sixes. Umar Akmal hit an unbeaten 37-ball 53, which had two fours and four sixes.

Meanwhile, Northern beat Balochistan by seven wickets to finish at the top of the points table as the group stage of the National T20 Cup. Ali Imran and Rohail Nazir hit half-centuries for Northern to help their side chase down the 156-run target in 17 overs. The pair crafted a 105-run partnership for the third-wicket which got Northern out of trouble after losing two wickets for just 18 runs in 1.5 overs. For his 37-ball 65 - studded with eight fours and two sixes - Ali was awarded man-of-the-match.

SCORES IN BRIEF:

BALOCHISTAN: 155-8, 20 overs (Hussain Talat 77, Awais Zia 31; Shadab Khan 4-26, M Amir 2-37, Sohail Tanvir 2-39)

NORTHERN: 156-3, 17 overs (Ali Imran 65, Rohail Nazir 56)

CENTRAL PUNJAB: 177-3, 20 overs (Babar Azam 83, Umar Akmal 53)

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA: 182-3, 19.4 overs (Fakhar Zaman 82, Khushdil Shah 46)