Pakistan’s premier 50-over tournament kicks off

Top eight departmental sides will first clash with each other, before regional sides do so

KARACHI: The country’s top eight departmental sides are set to vie it out for the 50-over National One Day Cup for departments that is set to begin in Karachi and Islamabad from Saturday.

The eight sides — HBL, WAPDA, SNGPL, SSGC, KRL, NBP, UBL and PIA — will play seven group games apiece, before the top two teams clash in the final.

The tournament is currently being shared by Islamabad and NBP after the final was washed out due to rain without a ball being bowled.

This time around, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has divided the tournament into two parts — the first will be played between the departments while the second will be played between the regional sides.

Joint-winners NBP, currently led by Qaiser Abbas, are confident of going the distance once again, especially with Nasir Jamshed set to make a return. “We are confident of defending the title,” said Abbas. “Jamshed might return and join the team, which will give out batting a boost while our bowlers are also ready to tackle the challenges ahhead,” he said.

Meanwhile, KRL’s Sadaf Hussain — who was the top wicket-taker last time around — is rearing to go once more, especially considering his poor run in the recently concluded Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, where . “I wasn’t able to get a lot of wickets in the longest format but I will be trying to top the charts once more in the one-day games.”