KP beat Punjab by 151 runs to lift Pakistan Cup title

FAISALABAD: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa defeated Punjab by a huge margin of 151 runs to win the Pakistan Cup One Day tournament here at Iqbal Stadium on Sunday night.

Chasing a massive 312-run target set by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab team was bowled out for 160 runs. Opener Shan Masood 36 and Shoaib Malik 24 were the only notable contributors for Punjab.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah and Zohaib Khan grabbed three wickets each for the winning side.

Earlier, KP skipper Younis Khan decided to bat first after winning the toss. Opener Fakhar Zaman and Ahmed Shehzad provided a solid platform to the team. Zaman ended up scoring the top score for his side. He made 115 runs off 111 balls with 12 fours and 3 sixes.

Shehzad made 62 in just 45 balls smashing 7 fours and 2 sixes while captain Younis, who had returned to lead the side the final, remained just one shy of a half-century.

Younis had left KP after a row with an umpire. The Mardan-born batsman had led his side in the initial two matches.

KP had also defeated Punjab by just two runs in their league round thanks to a splendid last over by Test pacer Rahat Ali, who took 4-42 in ten overs.

Teams:

KP team: Ahmed Shehzad, Fakhar Zaman, Zohaib Khan, +Bismillah Khan, Musadiq Ahmed, *Younis Khan, Fahim Ashraf, Yasir Shah, Sameen Gul, Zia-ul-Haq, Mohammad Asghar.

Punjab team: Shan Masood, Salman Butt, *Shoaib Malik, Asad Shafiq, +Mohammad Rizwan, Amad Butt, Saif Badar, Aamer Yamin, Kashif Bhatti, Zulfiqar Babar, Ehsan Adil.

Younis returns for final

Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan joined KP on Friday night. He was also part of the two-hour long practice session of KP at the Iqbal Stadium on Saturday.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) initially served him with a show-cause notice and stopped him from playing in the event. However, it later changed its stance and allowed Younis to re-join his side after he apologised to the PCB for breaching clauses of his central contract.

Sources said that Younis on Friday night was warmly received by his team when he joined it at a dinner in Faisalabad arranged by the Test opener Ahmed Shehzad, who led KP in their last two matches in Younis’s absence.