Imam-ul-Haq says speedster Akif is the new find of National T20 Cup

• Akif claimed three wickets, leading his side to victory against Southern Punjab.
• Imam-ul-Haq was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award for his half century.

Pakistan’s opening batsman Imam-ul-Haq has called his Balochistan mate Akif Javed the find of the ongoing National T20 Cup, after his side claimed victory over Southern Punjab at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium.

“We were already receiving positive reviews about Akif prior to the tournament, because he is very quick and bowls above 140kph and the way he is claiming scalps at a batting paradise wicket, I believe that you can call him the tournament’s find, but he needs to work very hard” said Imam, who was awarded the Man-of-the-Match award at the post match presentation.

Balochistan claimed seven wickets win over Southern Punjab at the ninth match of the tournament, on the back of Imam-ul-Haq’s half-century and Akif Javed’s three wickets.

Akif, the left arm speedster, struck in the first over of the match picking up the wickets of Shan Masood and Mohammad Hafeez. The quickie struck again in the death overs, accounting for Aamer Yamin’s wicket. In his four overs, Akif took three wickets while leaking only 16 runs, as Southern Punjab posted 144 runs on the board.

Talking about his young Balochistan side, the opening batsman said that his team, despite lacking big stars, work hard and play with unity. “Unlike other sides in the tournament we have a pretty young team, however, I believe that the youngsters jell much better that could be seen in our performance, and they play with unity for the team,” said Imam.

Imam hit six fours and stitched a 60-run opening stand with Awais Zia (22) before the latter lost his wicket during the ninth over.