2020–21 National T20 Cup
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The 2020–21 National T20 Cup was a Twenty20 domestic cricket competition that was played in Pakistan.[2] It was the 17th season of the National T20 Cup, and started on 30 September 2020, and finished on 18 October 2020.[3][4] Northern cricket team were the defending champions.[5][6] The season featured an expanded format, with the number of matches increasing from 18 to 33.[7] In July 2020, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that the tournament would be held either in Multan or Rawalpindi.[8] In August 2020, it was confirmed that the first leg will be played in Multan, and the final leg in Rawalpindi.[9]
Dates | 30 September – 18 October 2020 |
---|---|
Administrator(s) | Pakistan Cricket Board |
Cricket format | Twenty20 |
Tournament format(s) | Double round-robin and final |
Host(s) | Pakistan |
Champions | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (1st title) |
Participants | 6 |
Matches | 33[1] |
Player of the series | Fakhar Zaman |
Most runs | Fakhar Zaman (420) |
Most wickets | Shaheen Afridi (20) |
Official website | National T20 Cup |
← 2019–20 2021–22 → |
On the opening day of the tournament, Abdullah Shafique of Central Punjab scored a century on his debut. He became the second cricketer, after India's Shivam Bhambri, to score a century on both his T20 and first-class debuts.[10] Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's bowler Shaheen Afridi took two five-wicket hauls in four games, with 5/20 against Balochistan,[11] and 5/21 against Sindh.[12] Following the conclusion of the matches in Multan, Northern won all five of their games to lead the tournament.[13] They also recorded their tenth-consecutive victory in T20 cricket, equalling the record of the Lahore Lions.[14]
In the first match in Rawalpindi, Northern's winning streak came to an end, after they lost to Central Punjab.[15] The next match saw Khushdil Shah score the fastest century in a Twenty20 match by a Pakistani batsman, doing so in 35 balls.[16] On 10 October 2020, Shoaib Malik became the first Pakistani batsman to score 10,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket,[17] doing so in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's match against Balochistan.[18] On 12 October 2020, during the match against Balochistan, Central Punjab's captain Babar Azam became the fastest batsman to score 1,000 runs in the tournament, doing so in his 27th innings.[19] The following day, Kamran Akmal, also playing for Central Punjab, became the first wicket-keeper to affect 100 stumpings in Twenty20 cricket.[20]
On 11 October 2020, Northern became the first team to progress to the semi-finals of the tournament,[21] after they beat Southern Punjab by five runs, giving them six wins from their first seven matches.[22] Following the conclusion of the first match played on 14 October 2020, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh had also qualified for the semi-finals.[23] On 16 October 2020, Southern Punjab became the fourth and final team to reach the semi-finals,[24] after they beat Balochistan by seven wickets.[25] The fixture was also the final professional match to be played by Umar Gul,[26] who retired from cricket following a career that spanned twenty years.[27]
In the first semi-final, Southern Punjab beat Northern by seven wickets to advance to the final of the tournament.[28] The second semi-final saw Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Sindh by eight wickets to join Southern Punjab in the tournament's final.[29] In the final, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Southern Punjab by ten runs to win the tournament.[30]