2020–21 National T20 Cup

The 2020–21 National T20 Cup was a Twenty20 domestic cricket competition that was played in Pakistan.[2] It was the seventeenth 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 an increase from 18 to 33 matches.[7] In July 2020, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced that 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, with the final leg being held at Rawalpindi.[9]

2020–21 National T20 Cup

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 played	33[1]
Player of the series	Fakhar Zaman
Most runs	Fakhar Zaman (420)
Most wickets	Shaheen Afridi (20)
Official website	National T20 Cup

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]