MULTAN — Shaheen Shah Afridi delivered a remarkable bowling performance, taking seven wickets including a hat-trick, as Pakistan Gold defeated Pakistan Greens by 101 runs to win the National Champions Cup at Multan Cricket Stadium.
Pakistan Gold set Greens a challenging target of 341 after scoring 340 in their 50 overs. Shamyl Hussain and Saad Khan led the batting effort with impressive centuries, setting up a strong total for their side.
Shamyl scored 111 off 93 balls, hitting 11 fours and four sixes, while Saad Khan made 112 from 102 deliveries with 11 fours and four sixes. The pair added 137 runs for the second wicket after Shamyl had earlier shared a 78-run opening partnership with Mohammad Akhlaq, who scored 31.
Abdul Samad contributed a quick 25 off 25 balls, while Mubasir Khan added 21 off 17 as Pakistan Gold crossed the 300-run mark. For Greens, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan and Naseem Shah took two wickets each.
Pakistan Greens started their chase strongly and reached 143 for one in 20.4 overs. Fakhar Zaman scored 31 off 28 balls before being dismissed by Mubasir Khan, while Saad Baig and Omair Bin Yousuf then added 90 runs together.
Saad Baig made 67 off 51 balls, including nine fours and two sixes, before being dismissed by Faisal Akram. Omair contributed 44 off 50 balls, with two fours and two sixes.
Shaheen Afridi then turned the match completely in Pakistan Gold’s favour. He removed Farhan Yousuf before dismissing Shadab Khan and Mohammad Suleman from successive deliveries. After Greens slipped to 167 for six, Faheem Ashraf and Naseem Shah added 61 runs to briefly revive their hopes.
Shaheen returned to break that partnership and later completed his hat-trick by dismissing Mehran Mumtaz, Salman Mirza and Mohammad Hasnain with the first three balls of the 38th over. Greens were eventually bowled out for 239 in 37.3 overs.
Shaheen finished with outstanding figures of seven wickets for 36 runs in 8.3 overs, his best List A figures and his fourth five-wicket haul in the format. His hat-trick was the 19th recorded in List A cricket on Pakistani soil, while his bowling figures ranked among the best List A performances in Pakistan.
Faheem Ashraf remained unbeaten on 38 off 30 balls, while Naseem Shah scored 31 off 27, but their efforts could not prevent Greens from suffering a heavy defeat.
With the victory, Pakistan Gold secured the National Champions Cup title after a dominant all-round performance, with centuries from Shamyl Hussain and Saad Khan followed by Shaheen Afridi’s match-winning bowling spell.
