Southern Punjab 193 for 5 (Tahir 78, Imran 2-35) beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 182 for 6 (Gul 54, Ghulam 46, Ilyas 2-37) by 11 runs
Eliminated Southern Punjab (SP) closed out their campaign with a win over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) thanks to a 48-ball 78 from Tayyab Tahir, and several high-impact cameos lower down the order.
After being put in to bat, Tahir got SP off to a brisk start at his end, but with Sharoon Siraj and Agha Salman struggling to get going, KP kept the innings in check through to the midway period. But then a combined 49 off 26 balls from Azam Khan and Aamer Yamin helped lift SP, racking up 98 in the last 51 balls. Niaz Khan and Maaz Khan came in for particular punishment, going for a combined 74 in seven overs.
KP got off to a wretched start in the chase, losing three quick wickets and managing just 29 in the powerplay. It left them with nearly two runs a ball to fetch from the last 14 overs, and they might have crumbled completely if it wasn't for a 79-run stand between Kamran Ghulam and Nabi Gul, who scored 46 and 54 respectively.
Needing 63 off the last five, the required rate was just about manageable, with Iftikhar Ahmed giving it a good go towards the end by whacking an unbeaten 33 in 21. But with the crucial wicket of Gul at the hands of Mohammad Ilyas, SP were a bit too far ahead in the game and saw off KP with 11 runs to spare.