Pepsi National PDC T20 Cricket Championship: Karachi and Multan Secure Opening Day Victories

Karachi (Sports Reporter) Karachi and Multan began their campaigns with impressive wins on the opening day of the Pepsi National Physical Disability T20 Cricket Championship, organized by the Pakistan Physical Disability Cricket Association (PPDCA) at the Rashid Latif Cricket Academy (RLCA) Ground in Karachi on Monday.In the first match, hosts Karachi defeated Lahore by 17 runs in a thrilling contest. Batting first, Karachi posted 148 for 6, with Arfeen Arshad scoring 49, Umar Farooq 28, and captain Waheed Khan 17. For Lahore, Shahid Ali and Mohammad Bilal claimed two wickets each, while Shahid Nazir and Shahid Watoo took one apiece.In reply, Lahore managed 131 for 8, with Shahid Ali 30, Mohammad Shehbaz 24, Umar Siddiq 20, and Shahid Watoo 16 contributing notable runs. Karachi’s Ali Askar starred with the ball, taking four wickets, while Kamran Khan, Anas Altaf, and Haroon Rasheed claimed one wicket each. National disabled cricket team head coach Sabih Azhar, the chief guest, presented Ali Askar  the Player of the Match award.In the second match, defending champions Multan cruised past Quetta by 7 wickets. Batting first, Quetta reached 151 for 7, thanks to an aggressive 71-run knock by Juman Shah off 52 balls, featuring seven fours and three sixes, and 26 runs from Junaid Hasan. For Multan, Asif Khicchi bagged three wickets, while Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Tariq, and Mohammad Asif took one apiece.Chasing the target, Multan reached 154 for 3 in 17 overs. Captain Matloob Qureshi scored 54 off 39 balls with six boundaries, Majid Hussain hit 49 with nine fours, and Mohammad Shehzad smashed 39 off 20 balls, including one six and six fours. Quetta Region head Aslam Bareach, the chief guest for the second game, presented  Matloob Qureshi Player of the Match award.  “The matches were attended by PPDCA President Imran Balwani, Secretary General and Event Director Amiruddin Ansari, head coach Sabih Azhar, Quetta Region head Aslam Bareach, Lahore–Sialkot Region head Javed Ashraf, Mohammad Nizam, and other officials.”  The matches were supervised by Waseemuddin and Mohammad Rehan, with Shakeel Sajjad serving as match referee. On Day 2, Karachi will face Multan in the first match, followed by Quetta against Lahore.