- Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern and Sindh in the race for final spots
Karachi, 17 December 2021: The ninth round of the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy confirmed Northern at the top position with 127 points. In the 10th and final round of the double-league group-stage, which begins on 18 December, as many as four teams –Central Punjab, Northern, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh – will battle for the pink ball final from 25-29 December at the National Stadium.
Central Punjab v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at UBL Sports Complex
Central Punjab holds the fourth spot with 103 points while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with three wins from nine matches occupies second spot with 124 points. Central Punjab will have to play out of their skins if they want to reach the third final in as many years, while a simple win will take Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the final.
Central Punjab can restrict Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to earn place in the final as a simple win over the latter will provide chance to third-placed Sindh to qualify for the final if they win their encounter against fifth placed Southern Punjab.
In their previous outing in this season between Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Multan Cricket Stadium from 17-20 November, the match was played out a drawn. For Central Punjab, Mohammad Saad scored 98 in the first innings, who will captain the team in tomorrow’s match, while in bowling department right-arm fast Mohammad Ali picked nine wickets in the match.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, right-arm fast Imran Khan Snr bagged six wickets in the match. For tomorrow’s match, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will get a boost with the return of their captain Iftikhar Ahmed and international players Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Wasim Jnr. They were all part of the recently concluded T20I series against West Indies.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Iftikhar Ahmed: “Our team has performed exceptionally well in the tournament. We will not take Central Punjab lightly and we will go in the last round with an aim to win and qualify for the final. Our side is pretty balanced and with the return of myself, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Wasim Jnr it gives us great depth in the batting and bowling departments.”
Central Punjab captain Mohammad Saad: “Tomorrow’s match is very important for us. We will go all out for a comprehensive win to get maximum points to give ourselves a chance to qualify for the final. Players are excited and are willing to give their best to play another final of the trophy.”
Sindh v Southern Punjab at NBP Sports Complex
Sindh are currently positioned at number three in the points table, but a win against fifth spot Southern Punjab at the NBP Sports Complex in their final fixture will give them a chance to qualify for the final provided Khyber Pakhtunkhwa doesn’t do well against Central Punjab.
In the last outing between both sides, the match was played out a drawn at Gaddafi Stadium, where Southern Punjab’s captain Umar Siddiq top-scored with 84 in the first innings. For Sindh, right-arm fast Sohail Khan picked five wickets in the match.
In the bowling charts, Southern Punjab’s Ali Usman leads with 35 wickets from eight matches, while Sindh’s Sohail is on the second number with 30 wickets from seven matches. Sindh will get a boost with the return of right-arm fast Shahnawaz Dahani who is available to the side after featuring for Pakistan in the T20I series against Bangladesh and West Indies.
In the batting department, Sindh will pin their hopes from the batting pair of Ahsan Ali and Saad Khan as both have scored more than 600 runs in the tournament. For Southern Punjab, right-handed batter Tayyab Tahir occupies the second spot with 730 runs from nine matches.
Balochistan v Northern at State Bank Stadium
Bottom placed Balochistan will take on the table toppers Northern which will be live-streamed on PCB’s YouTube channel. Balochistan will aim to finish the tournament on a winning note, while Northern who will have the services of in-form Haider Ali will be eyeing for yet another win before going into the final.
Northern’s Faizan Riaz and Umar Amin are positioned at number three and four, respectively on the batting charts and their captain Test spinner Nauman Ali will like them to continue the form in help them lift the trophy. The captain with left-arm spin has taken 20 scalps from 10 outings in the tournament.
For Balochistan, left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti holds the fifth spot in the bowling charts taking 26 wickets from six matches. Sindh’s left-arm pacer Mir Hamza and left-arm spinner Mohammad Asghar share 47 wickets between them from 14 matches.
Tenth-round fixtures:
Central Punjab vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa –UBL Sports Complex, Karachi
Sindh vs Southern Punjab –NBP Sports Complex, Karachi
Balochistan vs Northern –State Bank Stadium
