- Akbar Khan scored a 15-ball half century in Hyderabad’s 46-run win over FATA
- Bahawalpur’s Sudais defended five off last over to hand DM Jamali an agonising loss
- Match highlights are available here; Tournament scorecards and stats are available here; Action images are available here
Lahore, 21 February 2026: Hyderabad Region and Bahawalpur Region secured victories against FATA Region and Dera Murad Jamali Region, respectively, in Match 15 and 16 of ABS Developers present University of Lahore National T20 Cup Qualifier on Saturday here at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
In the second match, defending five runs off the final over, Bahawalpur’s Mohammad Sudais not only bowled a maiden over, but bagged three crucial wickets, including the prized scalp of Dera Murad Jamali’s joint-top scorer Mohammad Shahid (39, 50b, 4x4s).
Bahawalpur romped to a come-from-behind and crucial four-run win defending their 104-run total.
In pursuit of the low total, Dera Murad Jamali were reduced to 36-5 in 9.1 overs before Shahid and Fahad Hussain (39, 33b, 2x4s, 3x6s) knitted a 62-run partnership to take their side within touching distance of victory.
With eight runs required off 12 deliveries and five wickets in hand, Dera Murad Jamali looked all but victorious. However, skipper Muhammad Imran removed set batter Fahad and then Tariq Jameel for a golden duck on back-to-back balls in the penultimate over, giving away three runs.
At the beginning of the chase, Dera Murad Jamali faced setback as Bahawalpur’s left-arm pacer Mohammad Azab picked up three wickets in his first two overs with only five runs on the board.
Opening batter Nasir Khan (14, 21b, 2x4s) and Shahid then put together 30 runs for the fourth wicket before the former was dismissed in the ninth over. Three deliveries later, Bahawalpur saw the back of Shoaib Ahmed, leaving Dera Murad Jamali in deep trouble at 36-5.
Azab returned figures of 4-1-10-3, while Imran bagged two for 19 in his four overs.
Batting first, Bahawalpur recovered from 42-5 in 10.1 overs to post 104-9 in 20 overs. No.3 batter Mohammad Ammar remained unbeaten on 39 off 46 balls hitting three boundaries. Only skipper Imran (14, 17b, 2x4s) and Ali Afzal (13, 11b, 1x4, 1x6) were the other two batters to get into double figures.
For Dera Murad Jamali, Farhan Ullah returned figures of 4-0-13-3, while Tariq Jameel (4-0-15-2) and Saleem Mal (4-0-23-2) shared four wickets.
The win took Bahawalpur level on points with FATA and Hyderabad as all three teams have four points in the bag.
In the first game of the day, Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batter Akbar Khan smashed the third-fastest T20 half-century by a Pakistan batter, racing to the landmark off just 15 balls, laced with three fours and five sixes. The knock was vital in Hyderabad scoring 72 runs in the last 4.1 overs as they posted 197-5 in 20 overs.
Akbar’s 17-ball 51 complimented the decent start provided by Sharjeel Khan, who bagged his 18th T20 half-century, contributing 56 off 38 balls, hitting six fours and three sixes. Akbar had walked in at 125-4 in 15.5 overs and faced 17 off the next 19 balls to produce a game-changing knock.
No.4 Mohammad Suleman (24, 19b, 4x4s) and opening batter Ubaidullah (22, 22b, 4x4s) also contributed towards setting the stage for the second-highest total in the tournament. For FATA, Sirajuddin and Mohammad Sarwar Afridi picked up two wickets each.
In reply, FATA lost two wickets in the powerplay to find themselves 38-2 after 5.4 overs. Top-scorer Mohammad Naeem and Samiullah Jnr (19, 15b, 2x4s) then shared a 53-run alliance before the latter was dismissed in the 12th overs as the scoreboard read 91-3.
Right-arm leg-spinner Jawad Ali delivered a double strike for Hyderabad in 15th over to remove the aggressive duo of Khushdil Shah (5, 11b) and Naeem (55, 45b, 4x4s, 4x6s) as FATA were left requiring 88 off the final five overs with five wickets in hand. They eventually fell 46 runs short, finishing on 151-7 in their 20 overs.
Shehryar Baloch spearheaded the Hyderabad bowling attack with figures of 4-0-32-3, while Jawad’s two scalps came for 29 in four overs. DM Jamali’s campaign in the tournament ended with one win out of four games.
Scores in brief:
Match 15: Hyderabad Region beat FATA Region by 46 runs at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Hyderabad 197-5, 20 overs (Sharjeel Khan 56, Akbar Khan 51, Mohammad Suleman 24, Ubaidullah 22; Sirajuddin 2-27, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 2-54)
FATA 151-7, 20 overs (Mohammad Naeem 55; Shehryar Baloch 3-32, Jawad Ali 2-29)
Player of the match: Akbar Khan (Hyderabad Region)
Match 16: Bahawalpur Region beat Dera Murad Jamali Region by four runs at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Bahawalpur 104-9, 20 overs (Mohammad Ammar 39 not out; Farhan Ullah 3-13, Tariq Jameel 2-15, Saleem Mal 2-23)
Dera Murad Jamali 100 all out, 20 overs (Fahad Hussain 39, Muhammad Shahid 39; Mohammad Sudais 3-0, Mohammad Azab 3-10, Muhammad Imran 2-19)
Player of the match: Mohammad Sudais (Bahawalpur Region)
Sunday’s fixtures
Karachi Blues v Islamabad at 4pm PKT
Azad Jammu and Kashmir v Quetta at 9:15pm PKT
