PESHAWAR: Karachi Whites defeated Faisalabad by eight wickets in the campaign opener of National T20 Cup 2026 at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Batting first, Faisalabad scored 171-7 in the allotted 20 overs thanks to a brilliant batting from Muhammad Awais Jaffer.
Openers Muhammad Faizan and Awais Zafar set the tone with a solid partnership that helped the team pile on the runs early in the innings.
However, the 34-run stand was broken when Bison was dismissed by Saim Ayub after scoring 30 off 13 balls that included 4 fours and 2 sixes.
Then Faisalabad lost two wickets in the fourth over. Atiq ur Rahman was out for five off seven balls, Muhammad Hamza was caught after hitting a boundary off the ball, while Asim Ali Naseer was run out for a duck off the first ball, leaving the side reeling at 39-3 in four overs.
Mubasir Khan fell for the fourth wicket as he failed to make an impact and was dismissed cheaply by Saim Ayub for 7 off 13 balls.
Awais Jaffer and Irfan Khan Niazi put together a crucial partnership to cement the innings. Both added valuable runs, with 70 to take the team past 100.
Muhammad Umar eventually dismissed Irfan Khan after a 23-ball 36 including four fours, reducing Faisalabad to 127-5 in 15.2 overs.
Awais continued to anchor the innings in fine form, leading from the front and scoring a well-deserved half-century.
Faisalabad lost two more wickets in the end as Saqib Khan dismissed Asif Ali for 3 off five balls and Ahmed Safi Abdullah fell to Muhammad Umar for two.
Awais Zafar was unbeaten on 81 off 52 balls with 7 fours and 3 sixes.
In Karachi Whites bowling, Saim Ayub and Muhammad Umar took 2 wickets each and Muhammad Hamza and Saqib Khan took one wicket each.
In reply, Karachi Whites easily chased down a target of 172-2 in 17.1 overs, thanks to match-winning knocks from Abdullah Fazal and Khawaja Nafe.
Fazal scored an unbeaten 76 off 51 balls with 3 fours and 5 sixes. Naphey provided strong support with a 20-ball 48 including 6 fours and 2 sixes.
Saim Ayub scored 33 off 25 balls, hitting 3 fours and a six to get dismissed by Zeeshan, while South Shakeel hit a six and fell to Zaman Khan.