FAISALABAD: SaimAyub struck a magnificent 156 as Panthers beat Stallions by 20 runs on Saturday night here at the Iqbal Stadium.
The flamboyant left-hander helped Panthers post 344 before the Stallions were bundled out for 324, despite Zaman Khan’s late cameo that threatened to take the game away from Panthers. Coming in at number nine, Zaman smashed a 16-ball 42 including six sixes and a four but was dismissed with Stallions requiring 21 runs off five balls.
Zaman’s knock came after TayyabTahir’s century and HussainTalat’s half-century including a 157-run fourth-wicket partnership. Earlier, Saim and Azan Awais laid the platform for a big first innings score with a 138-run partnership before the latter fell prey to Abrar for a 77-ball 51 with four fours and a six.
Usman Khan, who struck a quickfire 75 off 47 balls smashing eight fours and four sixes, stitched a 116-run stand for the second wicket with the skipper. Saim’s masterly knock was laced with 13 fours and seven sixes as he departed in the 46th over becoming the second of Zaman’s four wickets in the game.
Panthers scored 46 runs in the last 43 balls giving away five wickets as they reached 344-7 in 50 overs. Apart from Zaman who bagged a four-ferJahandad Khan and Abrar Ahmed picked up one each for Stallions. After Stallions lost their top three, Tayyab and Hussain joined forces and kept the Stallions innings intact with scores of 109 and 63, respectively.
Tayyab hit eight fours and four sixes while Hussain clubbed three fours and one six before the partnership was broken by Mubasir Khan in 35th over derailing the Stallions’ momentum. With Stallions reeling at 272-8, Zaman and Abrar (nine not out) put on a brisk 52-run ninth-wicket partnership off just 20 balls to bring their team close but fell 20 runs short.
The Board of Governors (BoG) of the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) has imposed bans on Pakistan Boxing Federation (PBF) president Khalid Mehmood and secretary retired Col. NasirIjaz Tung, preventing them from holding any future positions in national sports federations.
The BoG has also instructed the PSB to refer the case of the aforementioned office bearers to the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). This decision follows an inquiry by the Ministry of Inter-provincial Coordination (IPC) into the incident involving a Pakistani boxer who absconded in Italy in March.
The inquiry report revealed that the incident, which attracted significant media criticism “caused considerable disgrace for Pakistan” undermining trust among stakeholders and adversely affecting the opportunities for Pakistani athletes abroad.
Several boxers participated in the Italian tournament without obtaining the mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the government or the PSB. The committee noted that the case potentially involves human trafficking and, with input from the BoG, may warrant further investigation by the FIA.
During a meeting on September 10, the BoG approved the inquiry committee’s recommendations, including the referral to the FIA, recovery of a surety bond of Rs1 million from the responsible officials, and a ban on both Khalid and Nasir from future roles in national sports federations.
Additionally, the BoG instructed the Director General of PSB to write to the FIA to verify the NOCs of all athletes claiming to represent Pakistan in international competitions, advocating for the issuance of bar-coded NOCs verifiable via the PSB website.
