Northern beat Balochistan by 39 runs

Balochistan missed out on a chance to seal qualification to the last four, falling to a 39-run defeat against Northern. Sitting on 8 points, they had a chance to put both Central and South Punjab out of the tournament with a win, but will now have to wait until their final game for another shot at the last four.

Haider Ali's 50-ball 86 meant they were set exactly 200 to chase. The opener set up a 92-run partnership with Ali Imran, whose 22-ball 41 got them off to a flying start; Northern brought up the 100 before the 10th over was complete. Haider looked set for a hundred before Akhtar Shah trapped him in front. It was a rare moment of joy for the bowler, who would otherwise be clobbered for 40 in the three overs he bowled. Haris Sohail and Amad Butt put the brakes on with a couple of cheap middle order wickets, but Shadab Khan was around to inject some momentum at the death, striking a breezy 42 off 27 to set Balochistan a stiff target.

Balochistan appeared well on track for the chase in the first powerplay, staying abreast of the run rate without losing a wicket. Awais Zia and Imam-ul-Haq put up a 69-run opening stand off just 44 balls, but things began to unravel when Imam was run out to give Northern a breakthrough. Shadab removed Zia and Bismillah Khan off consecutive balls; his figures of 3-0-13-2 were the catalyst for Northern's win. So the wickets began to tumble, the run rate soared. Just one batsman, Sohail, crossed 15 in the innings thereafter, and Balochistan crawled to 160, long out of the game by the time the final ball had been bowled.