Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: NBP, SNGPL to lock horns in the final

Nawaz’s 11-wicket haul gives NBP 135-run win over PQA in decider

KARACHI: Left-arm spinner Muhammad Nawaz’s 11-for guided NBP into the finals of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold league as they thrashed PQA by 135 runs in the final round at the NBP Stadium in Karachi on Tuesday.

PQA, resuming their second innings with two wickets in hand and needing 149 more runs, lost their final two batsmen in just 7.5 overs as Nawaz claimed four second-innings wickets, while Muhammad Asghar and Adnan Rasool chipped in with four and two wickets respectively.

The bankers will now meet SNGPL in a five-day final at the National Stadium of Karachi starting from December 22.

Former Pakistan Test cricketer and NBP coach, Iqbal Qasim, said that his team had played well and deserved their spot in the final. “They performed well in both the innings and proved to be better than PQA,” Qasim told The Express Tribune. “The final will be a tough one, but we will have Nasir Jamshed, who is in good form, which will give us an advantage over SNGPL. Even though we’re aware that SNGPL have topped the charts, we’ve done well with both bat and ball, so there’s a good chance we’ll come out on top against them.”

Meanwhile, SNGPL coach Basit Ali also believed the final against NBP would be challenging as it is a five-day encounter. “Although we defeated NBP with a huge nine-wicket margin in the league match, the final will be a completely different ballgame,” said Ali. “The boys maintained their winning momentum and registered a win in the last league match, which will hopefully prove good practice before the final.”

Pakistan international Taufiq Umar, who will play the final for SNGPL, believes it will prove to be an exciting encounter. “Our boys have done well throughout the tournament, as Naeemuddin is the highest-scorer in the batting charts, while others have performed well too,” said Umar. “NBP is also a strong team with experienced players, so we will need to maintain focus in order to win the match.”

Meanwhile, in the other matches of the day, a first-innings century from Aimal Khan and a 10-wicket haul from fast-bowler Azizullah helped Peshawar Panthers crush Multan Tigers by an innings and 75 runs at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

At the UBL sports complex in Karachi, Ali Zahid’s five-wicket haul steered UBL to a 72-run victory over ZTBL on the final day, while Adil Raza also took four wickets.

 

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