Lahore Blues, Peshawar enter National T20 Cup semis

LAHORE: Lahore Region Blues and Peshawar completed the semifinals lineup for the Bank Alfalah Inverex Solar Energy National T20 Cup 2024-25 with victories over Sialkot and Faisalabad, respectively, at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, on Monday night.

Lahore Blues secured a 33-run win over Sialkot to book their spot in the semifinals. Batting first, Lahore posted 184 through Umar Siddiq’s brilliant 65 off 44 balls and a quickfire 21 off seven balls by Nisar Ahmad. Despite Hasan Ali’s impressive 4-42, including three wickets and a run-out in the final four balls, Lahore set a challenging target.

Sialkot’s chase was anchored by Mirza Tahir Baig, who smashed 77 off 47 balls, including five fours and five sixes. However, consistent breakthroughs by Lahore’s bowling unit restricted Sialkot to 151 all out in 18.5 overs. Hussain Talat and Nisar Ahmad picked up two wickets each, with Mohammad Rizwan and Mohammad Irfan also claiming two scalps apiece.

Lahore Blues will now face Multan in the semifinal on Wednesday (today). Earlier, Peshawar clinched a nail-biting three-wicket win over Faisalabad, with just four balls to spare in the third quarterfinal. Chasing a modest target of 139, Mohammad Amir Khan emerged as the hero, smashing two sixes in his unbeaten six-ball 14-run cameo to secure the win after walking in at 120-7 in the 18th over.

Faisalabad had opted to bat first but faltered at the start, losing two wickets for just 14 runs. A steady 77-run partnership between Ali Shan (51 off 39 balls) and Taimoor Sultan (36 off 26 balls) helped rebuild their innings.