Peshawar Region led by Mohammad Haris beat Sarfaraz Ahmed's Karachi Region Whites to a five-wicket win in Pakistan Cup 2023 final in Rawalpindi on November 19. Mohammad Imran and Abbas Afridi rushed through Peshawar Region's batting lineup to bowl them out for 103 in 31.2 overs. Haris' 46-run knock helped Peshawar Region make short work of a target of 104 and win the game by five wickets with 32.4 overs to spare and win the title.
Follow the Live Score of the IND vs AUS, World Cup Final here
Earlier, Farhan won the toss and opted to field first. Imran struck with the new ball to get the wickets of openers Saim Ayub and Habibullah. Afridi got rid of Omair Yousuf. Azam Khan then got the wicket of Asad Shafiq. To add to Karachi's worries, Danish Aziz was dismissed runout. Skipper Sarfaraz and wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan tried to help Peshawar recover from 56/5. Sarfaraz was batting well but Mohammad Ilyas broke the partnership. He scored 22 runs from 25 balls.
Imran and Afridi preyed on the tailenders as Anwar Ali, Sohail Khan, and Noman Ali were dismissed cheaply. Running out of partners, Azam was the last to ball. He scored 30 runs from 46 balls including five fours. He was the top run-scorer for Karachi in the final. As Imran completed his four-fer, Karachi were bowled out for 103 with 18.4 overs left in the innings.
In the run chase, Farhan made a statement by targetting the new-ball bowlers. But he unfortunately got out hit wicket. Haris was in a hurry to finish the run chase early but Danish Aziz did not let him score a half-century. He scored 46 runs from just 33 balls including seven fours and one six. Iftikhar Ahmed and Kamran Khulam became Noman's victims. Ayub got the wicket of Azam as Peshawar lost half their side for 102 in the 18th over. However, it was just a consolation wicket. Nabi Gul finished the run chase with a maximum off the first ball he faced.
Imran was named 'Player of the match' for taking four wickets while conceding 28 runs from 7.1 overs. Sarfaraz's Karachi missed out on a chance to win two domestic tournaments. Earlier this year, they won the Quaid-e-Azam trophy by beating Faisalabad Region.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK
Jasprit Bumrah reflects on his journey from missing 2022 T20 World Cup to playing 2023 ODI World Cup final
IND vs AUS: Pat Cummins choosing to bat first vs India reminder of Sourav Ganguly's big blunder in 2003 World Cup final
