PESHAWAR: Shahid Afridi bludgeoned a quickfire 66 off 19 balls to guide Pakistan Peace XI to a dramatic five-wicket victory over Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Peace XI in the Twenty20 Peace Cup cricket match here on Sunday.
Former Pakistan captain received a rousing welcome from the jam-packed Arbab Niaz Cricket Stadium crowd when he came to the crease at the fall of the third wicket on 102. Egged on by the delirious fans, Afridi smashed seven sixes and six boundaries before finishing the game with a towering six.
Afridi was well supported by upcoming wicket-keeper/batsman Mohammad Rizwan who made 54 off 40 balls with the aid of six boundaries and two sixes, while Fawad Alam contributed 27 off 26 with three fours. Rizwan and Fawad added 50 for the third wicket before Fawad retired to let Afridi take charge.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Peace XI, who were led by ex-national captain Inzamam-ul-Haq, Abdur Rauf claimed two wickets for 22 runs in his four-over spell. Fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar got one wicket for 31 in four overs while Akram Raza and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan also bagged a wicket each for 39 and 42 runs, respectively.
Earlier, after winning the toss and batting first, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reached 181-6. Saleem Malik, yet another former Pakistan captain, blasted 51 runs from 27 balls with six boundaries and two sixes Hard-hitting opener Shahzaib Hasan hit 46 off 32 balls with six fours and a brace of sixes while Mohammad Yousuf scored a 27-ball 37 with five hits to the fence and Imran Nazir made 27 off 20 balls with six boundaries. Inzamam, however, could make only three.
Shahid Afridi (2-29) and Abdul Razzaq (2-34) were the main wicket-takers for the winning team, while Mohammad Khalil and Fawad Alam grabbed one wicket each for 24 and 16 runs, respectively.
Pakistan’s 1992 World Cup-winning skipper Imran Khan who heads Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf was the chief guest during this special match distributed the prizes.
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