Sarfaraz Ahmed and Zahid Mahmood sparkle as Sindh make it three in three

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Balochistan remain in fifth place, after their third loss in four games

Sindh 175 for 4 (Sarfaraz 41*, Sharjeel 34, Khurram 1-25) beat Balochistan 98 (Bangalzai 29, Dahani 4-12, Zahid 3-18, Danish 2-23) by 77 runs

Sindh made it three-in-three in Pakistan’s National T20 Cup with an enormous victory over Balochistan in their latest fixture, topping their opponents by 77 runs after bowling them out for just 98. While the batting was led by captain Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shahnawaz Dahani, Danish Aziz and Zahid Mahmood, the Player of the Match, shared nine wickets between them in a spectacular display to finish off the Balochistan resistance in just 16.4 overs.

Batting first after winning the toss, Sindh got off to a good start courtesy Shan Masood (31) and Sharjeel Khan (34), the two putting on 52 in 6.2 overs before Sharjeel, the aggressor, fell. Khurram Manzoor couldn’t quite get going, but after Masood fell in the 11th over, Saud Shakeel (32) and Sarfaraz (41*) took control of the game, scored quickly, and set the stage for Anwar Ali to come in at the close and wallop an unbeaten 12-ball 22.

That gave Sindh a score Sarfaraz would have expected his bowling line-up to defend without much fuss, and that’s exactly what happened.

Imam-ul-Haq, the big name in the line-up, scored his 19 runs in 18 balls, and Abdul Bangalzai hit 29 in 23, neither quite able to wrest the initiative. The 46-run first-wicket stand was the best period with the bat for Balochistan, as the wickets tumbled after the openers were sent back by the end of the eighth over. Abdullah Shafique, who has moved from Central Punjab to Balochistan, made his much-anticipated debut on the day but only managed a 12-ball 8.

Legspinner Zahid was the pick of the bowlers, with 3 for 18, while left-arm spinner Danish and medium-pacer Dahani struck key blows to never allow the batters to get on top.

Source: ESPN Crickinfo

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