Abbottabad, Sialkot advance to National T20 Cup Semis

2026-03-17 - 11:01

Abbottabad and Sialkot qualified for the semi-finals from Group B after registering victories on the final day of group-stage action in the National T20 Cup 2026 at Peshawar’s Imran Khan Cricket Stadium on Monday night. Abbottabad cruised past Lahore Blues by eight wickets, while Sialkot defeated Multan by seven wickets in what was effectively a knockout clash. Both teams finished on six points from four matches, with Sialkot topping Group B courtesy of a better net run-rate. In the semi-finals, set to be played on Tuesday, Karachi Whites will face Sialkot, while Abbottabad will go up against Lahore Whites. Sialkot and Multan locked horns in the second game of the night with a semi-final spot on the line. In the end, Sialkot held their nerve to beat Multan by seven wickets with one ball to spare in a chase of 163. Batting first, Multan lost opening batter Mohammad Naeem (4) in the fourth over with 26 runs on the board. Skipper Imam-ul-Haq then added 28 runs for the second wicket with Sameer Minhas (14) before the latter was dismissed in the seventh over, leaving Multan 53 for 2. Multan then lost two more wickets in quick succession and slipped to 90-4 in 11.4 overs. Imam, however, found support in Bismillah Khan (23), with the pair putting together a 48-run stand to revive the innings. However, the game turned again when Bismillah and Imam fell in the space of five deliveries, triggering a collapse as Multan lost their last six wickets for 24 runs to tumble from 138 for four to 163 all out in 19.5 overs. In reply, Sialkot got off to a solid start as opening batters Mirza Tahir Baig (29) and Khawaja Arham (32) stitched together a 63-run partnership in nine overs. However, both openers fell in the space of three deliveries, with Moheer Saeed (4-0-28-1) dismissing Arham and Arafat Minhas removing Tahir Baig. Hasan Nawaz then took charge of the chase, first adding 37 runs for the third wicket with Abdullah Shafique (16). The next 3.5 overs saw Hasan going from 21 off 20 to 80 not out off 40 and Sialkot nailing the semi-final berth spectacularly. In the first game, Lahore Region Blues batted first but were bundled out for 86 in 14.3 overs, before Abbottabad Region romped home in 8.2 overs with eight wickets in hand and 70 balls to spare. Shadab Khan led Abbottabad’s charge with the ball, returning figures of 3-0-10-3, while Shahab Khan (1.3-0-11-2) and Arshad Iqbal (3-0-30-2) chipped in with two wickets apiece. For Lahore Blues, only Hamza Zahoor offered some resistance with an eight-ball 18, striking one four and two sixes. In reply, Abbottabad suffered an early blow when skipper Fakhar Zaman fell for nought, but Shahzaib Khan (32) and Kamran Ghulam (46 not out) stitched together a brisk stand to seal the chase with ease. Karachi, Lahore qualify for National T20 Cup Semis