PESHAWAR: Karachi Zone Blues opened their campaign in the ongoing National T20 Cup 2026 at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium on Sunday by beating Sialkot Zone by 40 runs.
Batting first, Karachi scored 201 runs in 19.2 overs and were bowled out by wicketkeeper-batsman Usman Khan and opener Ahsan Ali.
The team got off to a good start as openers Ahsan and Jahansaib Sultan started to pile on the runs, but their partnership was cut short when Jahansaib hit a 13-ball boundary and Abdul Subhan took the wicket for 12 runs.
Mirza Saad Baig departed for 14 off nine balls, hitting two fours and a six before being dismissed by Sufyan Muqeem as Karachi were 56-2 in 5.4 overs.
Ahsan was in fine form with the bat as he piled on the runs and raised his bat for a well-deserved half-century.
However, Usama Mir’s innings ended when he picked up a big wicket. Ahsan scored 50 off 27 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes.
Then Usman Khan and Mohammad Taha joined hands to help the team cross 100 runs.
Then Taha fell for Karachi’s fourth wicket, Abdul Subhan dismissed him in three balls, reducing the side to 103-4 in 11.5 overs.
Rameez Aziz Banjara and Wahaj Riaz fell cheaply for two and a duck respectively, while Muhammad Ali and Hamza Nasser took wickets.
Usman continued his aggressive approach and brought up his half-century while guiding Karachi towards a competitive total. Jahandad Khan also joined the charge, contributing to the quick runs.
However, this partnership was broken when Usman was dismissed by Abdul Subhan when he scored 81 runs off 39 balls with 9 fours and 4 sixes.
Mehran Mumtaz was dismissed on the first ball and Subhan struck again on the very next ball.
Jahandat was the next set batsman to hit 30 off 16 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes.
Abdul Subhan took his fourth wicket of the game, while Mohammad Ali ended the innings by dismissing Shahnawaz Dahani for seven in three balls.
Abdul Subhan took 4 wickets for 41 runs in four overs and picked the bowlers for his side. Muhammad Ali took 2 wickets and Usama Mir and Subian Mukeem took one wicket each.
Chasing a target of 202, Sialkot were bundled out for 161 in 19.4 overs thanks to some excellent bowling by Khalil Ahmed and Muhammad Taha.
Captain Usama Mir led the batting effort and scored 63 runs off 32 balls with 6 fours and 4 sixes and was dismissed by Khalil Ahmed.
Abdullah Shafiq scored 28 runs off 14 balls including a four and 2 sixes to give his wicket to Mehran Mumtaz. Hamza Nasser scored 10 runs while Khwaja Arham and Ali Afzal scored 15 runs each.
Khalil Ahmed scored 27 runs in 4 overs for Karachi, while Taha took 3 wickets. Shahnawaz Dahani took 2 wickets and Mehran Mumtaz one wicket.