Cricket for peace: Peshawar win Swat’s first T20 tournament
Peshawar beat Sialkot by nine runs in the final.
SWAT:
Peshawar won Swat’s first T20 Peace Cricket Tournament here on Sunday. They beat Sialkot in the final to win the tournament, which was part of the Swat Sports Gala organised by the Pakistan Army.
The final was a closely-fought affair, with just nine runs differentiating the two teams in the end.
“My happiness knows no bounds. It was a team effort. We played for peace of this beautiful land,” Akbar Badshah, captain of Peshawar team and man of the match, told The Express Tribune.
Mansoor, Sialkot team’s captain, blamed “irresponsible” and “insensible” batting for their defeat.
“Though we could not win the match, we played some fantastic cricket, especially in a pleasant environment. I am thankful to the crowd as they supported us on every ball. We are very happy to see smiles on the faces of the crowd,” he added. Aziz Ahmad, a spectator, said, “It was really fun to watch live T20 matches in our home ground.”
Swat Cricket Association General Secretary Hussain Ali said, “We will meet the officials of Pakistan Cricket Board for organising more national events in Swat.”
Six other teams participated in the tournament: Abbottabad, Swat, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Fata.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2012.
Peshawar won Swat’s first T20 Peace Cricket Tournament here on Sunday. They beat Sialkot in the final to win the tournament, which was part of the Swat Sports Gala organised by the Pakistan Army.
The final was a closely-fought affair, with just nine runs differentiating the two teams in the end.
“My happiness knows no bounds. It was a team effort. We played for peace of this beautiful land,” Akbar Badshah, captain of Peshawar team and man of the match, told The Express Tribune.
Mansoor, Sialkot team’s captain, blamed “irresponsible” and “insensible” batting for their defeat.
“Though we could not win the match, we played some fantastic cricket, especially in a pleasant environment. I am thankful to the crowd as they supported us on every ball. We are very happy to see smiles on the faces of the crowd,” he added. Aziz Ahmad, a spectator, said, “It was really fun to watch live T20 matches in our home ground.”
Swat Cricket Association General Secretary Hussain Ali said, “We will meet the officials of Pakistan Cricket Board for organising more national events in Swat.”
Six other teams participated in the tournament: Abbottabad, Swat, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad and Fata.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 15th, 2012.