KARACHI: A gruelling battle is on the cards as the season’s two toughest teams, Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, will meet in the five-day final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (first-class) which begins here at National Stadium on Friday (today).
Halfway through the league stage, Hasan Ali-led Central Punjab were nowhere in the standings but they turned the things around, winning four matches of the last five to blast their way into the final with 137 points.
Needing a convincing win in their tenth-round game against Southern Punjab, Central Punjab completed a resounding ten-wicket win in the second session of the last day to earn 26 points which helped them leapfrog Southern Punjab and Northern who were also in the running for the final when the tenth round began.
Central Punjab will rely on the middle-order trio of Usman Salahuddin (797 runs), Mohammad Saad (608) and Saad Nasim (575) to lead the team in the batting department.
The trio overcame the loss of seasoned batsmen Ahmed Shehzad and Kamran Akmal with such proficiency that Central Punjab decided to stick with the same combination for the final despite Kamran recovering from the injury.
The 38-year-old wicketkeeper batsman Kamran contributed a mere 112 runs in six innings of the first three rounds of the tournament at 18.66 before sustaining a finger injury.
The in-form Usman slammed a remarkable unbeaten 219 off 346 balls against Southern Punjab and laid the platform for his side’s convincing win. Saad Nasim has been in prolific form since his induction in the team. He has made his 575 runs in only seven matches, scoring four half-centuries and one century.
Hasan will aim to once again spearhead the bowling attack; the right-armer has become the leading fast bowler in the tournament with 38 wickets in eight matches, including two five-wicket hauls.
Central Punjab’s pace attack has proven to be the most destructive in the tournament with Hasan’s effort complemented by Waqas Maqsood, who has 34 wickets in nine games.
Spinner Ahmed Safi Abdullah has provided wicket-taking ability with his left-arm spin that has yielded him 33 wickets in nine games.
“I am delighted with the performance of my team; our journey to the final is a fantastic story,” Central Punjab skipper Hasan Ali said. “Despite a poor start, we never lost belief and we knew that we had the ability of turning things around.
“We have a great blend of youth and experience and that has helped us immensely, especially in the tough situations we have had to face. It truly has been an all-round effort and I am really looking forward to an exciting final and the team as a whole is now fully focussed and confident of retaining the prestigious Quaid-e-Azam Trophy,” he said.
It was indeed a dream effort from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who finished as the top team on the points table by accumulating 161 points (five wins, four draws, one defeat). They recorded the most wins by any team in the double-league group stage.
They finished the group stage with a draw against Northern. The match was dominated by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa outfit that posted a mammoth 521-run total in the first innings courtesy centuries by Israrullah, Rehan Afridi and the leading run-getter of the season Kamran Ghulam.
Kamran has been nothing short of a revelation in this edition of the country’s marquee first-class event. The 25-year-old right-handed batsman from Upper Dir became the first batsman to cross the 1,000-run mark in the season.
Kamran’s 1,065 runs came in 18 innings (10 matches) at an average of 59.17. This includes four centuries and as many half-centuries.
Adil Amin is the second highest run getter for the side with a tally of 755 runs in nine matches. The seasoned middle-order batsman has scored his runs at 47.19 with a century and five half-centuries.
Left-handed opener Israrullah has scored 608 runs at 35.76, while wicketkeeper Rehan has a tally of 550 tournament runs at 34.38.
Off-spinner Sajid Khan has collected 62 wickets in 10 matches at 24.81. His tally includes as many as five five-wicket hauls.
Captain Khalid Usman will once again pin his hopes on Sajid to spearhead the attack in the final. Khalid himself has taken 32 wickets in 10 matches with his left-arm spin at 31.28.
Fast bowler Irfanullah Shah, who has collected 17 wickets in five matches with one five-wicket haul, will lead Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s pace attack.
Coach Abdul Razzaq has a potent pace attack at his disposal with young 19-year-old Mohammad Wasim Jr. also impressing in his maiden first-class season with a tally of 14 wickets in five matches.