Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Central Punjab by 244 runs at the UBL Sports Complex Karachi in the final round match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on Tuesday to set up a pink-ball five-day final against Northern at the National Stadium from 25 December.
Right-arm fast Sameen Gul took three for 42 while Imran Khan Snr, Sajid Khan, and Iftikhar Ahmed picked two wickets each as Central Punjab were dismissed for 250 after resuming this morning at 123 for no loss and chasing 495 for victory.
The openers Abid Ali and Rizwan Hussain fought hard for Central Punjab. Abid scored 61 off 148 balls before retiring out. His partner Rizwan top-scored with 67 off 145, hitting 12 fours and one six. Hussain Talat coming to bat at number-five contributed a 132-ball 46, which included seven fours.
At NBP Sports Complex, six wickets from leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood led Sindh to a 48-run win over Southern Punjab. The win didn’t help Sindh to qualify for the final as they finished on the third spot with 143 points.
Chasing 232 to win, Southern Punjab were bowled out for 183 in the 55th over. Yousuf Babar batting at number-five top-scored with a 124-ball 57, smashing six fours. Wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan contributed 25 off 37 balls, which included three fours.
Sindh’s Zahid picked six wickets f0r 101 and ended up taking eight wickets in the match. Mohammad Asghar with his left-arm spin bagged three for 35.
Earlier, resuming their second innings on 294 for seven, Sindh were bowled out for 306 in the 77th over. Ali Usman picked four wickets for 102.
At the conclusion of the tenth and final round matches of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Northern topped the table with 152 points and will face Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the final who finished on the second spot with 150 points.
