Centuries in losing cause for Zeeshan and Ali; winning ton for Mehran

The super-6 stage of the 2022 CCA #BAOGroup T20 Cup continued at Ypsonas with more high-scoring matches resulting in wins for Cyprus Moufflons, Punjab Lions, Black Caps and Sri Lanka Lions.

The first match had the unusual feature of a batsman – Zeeshan Ahmed of Markhor – finishing on the losing side despite hitting a personal score of 150. His innings lasted only 57 balls and included 15 sixes and 10 fours.

Zeeshan received support from Wasim Abbass (37) in a stand of 131 for the fourth wicket, but Markhor’s final score of 226 all out still left them 31 runs short of the Moufflons total of 257.

That innings also relied on a mammoth individual contribution, 125 from 47 balls by Mehran Khan, with 14 sixes and 6 fours, and again there was one major partnership, 107 for the fourth wicket with Scott Austin (34). Amir Sohail took 4-61 for Markhor, who have given a good account of themselves in their first season in the league.

Next Punjab Lions topped the Moufflons score by hitting 261-4 from their 20 overs against Napa Kings. Gurpartap Singh (99) and Zeeshan Mehmood (89) put on 153 for the second wicket, and useful scores from Kulwinder Singh, Tejwinder Singh and Harvinder Singh added to their opponents’ misery.

The Kings reply got off to a terrible start as Lions opening bowler Sushil Kumar took two wickets in his first three balls on the way to figures of 4-36. A partnership of 146 between Karanvir Singh (46) and Ali Khan gave the score respectability without really threatening to win the game. Ali went on to record a century, 104 from 67 balls with 8 sixes and 10 fours, but the final total of 203-7, a worthy effort, was still well short of the target.

Black Caps gained an important victory over Cyprus Moufflons by three wickets. Moufflons made 181-8 with 49 by Gurdeep Sharma and 40 from Muhammad Husain. For the Caps Parminder Singh and Rajwinder Brar each took three wickets economically.

Black Caps found themselves in some trouble at 137-7, with Moufflons’ Muhammad Bilal taking 3-18, including the wicket of Resham Singh for a whirlwind 33 off 10 balls. But Sukhwinder Singh saw them home with an even quicker unbeaten 35 from just 8 balls, and somehow Muhammad Husain conceded 17 runs from just two balls in the 18th over as defeat came rapidly, severely dampening Moufflons’ hopes in the competition.

The latest game saw Napa Kings knock up a reasonable total of 192-9, thanks largely to Mohammad Ikram’s 84, with good support from Amritpal Singh (35) and Hardeep Singh (32). Then Sachithra Tharanga hit 52 and Roshan Lakmal followed his steady bowling (2-28) with 41 runs, as Sri Lanka Lions passed their target with 6 wickets in hand, despite a tidy spell of 2-16 from 4 overs by Ali Khan.

The league table shows Black Caps currently at the top, but they have only one game left to play. Punjab Lions are the only unbeaten team in this phase of the competition, while the

teams below have a lot of work to do to get themselves into the top two positions that will earn a place in the final.

T20 Super-6 standings:

Black Caps played 4, points 30

Punjab Lions p 2, pts 20

Cyprus Moufflons p2, pts 10

Sri Lanka Lions p2, pts 10

Markhor p3, pts 10

Napa Kings p3, pts 0