National One-day Cup for departments begins today

KARACHI: The country’s leading eight departments will begin their title quest as the National One-day Cup for departments begins here and Hyderabad simultaneously on Thursday (today).

The departments will miss their leading players who are part of Pakistan’s team for New Zealand tour.

Defending champions Habib Bank Limited (HBL) will face National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) here at NBP Sports Complex.

Last year’s runners-up Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) will lock horns with WAPDA here at State Bank of Pakistan Ground.

WAPDA have almost retained the same squad which recently played the final of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy against Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) here at National Stadium which the latter won by 103 runs.

“We will play with almost the same squad which played Quaid-e-Azam Trophy,” WAPDA coach Zahid Umar told ‘The News’ on Wednesday.

“I cannot say that we will reach the final but we will try our best,” Zahid said.

An SSGC official said that they would be missing Babar Azam, Aamir Yamin, Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Amir but still they had a solid squad which would put in its best in the one-dayers.

SNGPL, who reclaimed the first-class cricket crown under the captaincy of Mohammad Hafeez the other day, will be pitted against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad.

It will be interesting to see the behavior of the pitches as these tracks created great problems for the batsmen during the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

United Bank Limited (UBL) meet Pakistan Television here at UBL Sports Complex.

A UBL official told this correspondent that they were ready for the event. “We will miss Rumman Raees and Mohammad Nawaz due to their tour of New Zealand, but the remaining players are fit and ready for the challenge,” the official said.

The teams will play seven matches each in the competitions. The four leading outfits will progress to the semi-finals to be held on January 11 at NBP Stadium, Karachi, and UBL Ground No 1.

The final will be held on January 13 for which the venue is yet to be decided.

December 28: SNGPL v KRL (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad), NBP v HBL (NBP Stadium, Karachi), WAPDA v SSGC (State Bank of Pakistan Ground), UBL v PTV (UBL Ground No1 Karachi) .

Dec 30: WAPDA v SNGPL (State Bank Ground, Karachi), NBP v PTV (NBP Stadium, Karachi), UBL v HBL (UBL Ground No1, Karachi), KRL v SSGC (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Jan 1: SNGPL v SSGC (UBL Ground No1 Karachi), NBP v UBL (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad), HBL v PTV (State Bank of Pakistan Ground, Karachi), WAPDA v KRL (NBP Stadium, Karachi).

Jan 3: SNGPL v PTV (State Bank Ground, Karachi), NBP v KRL (NBP Stadium, Karachi), WAPDA v HBL (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad), UBL v SSGC (UBL Ground No1, Karachi).

Jan 5: UBL v SNGPL (UBL Ground No 1, Karachi), NBP v SSGC (NBP Stadium, Karachi), HBL v KRL (State Bank Ground, Karachi), WAPDA v PTV (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).

Jan 7: NBP v SNGPL (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad), HBL v SSGC (State Bank Ground, Karachi), UBL v WAPDA (UBL Ground No 1, Karachi), KRL v PTV (NBP Stadium, Karachi).

Jan 9: SNGPL v HBL (UBL Ground No 1, Karachi), NBP v WAPDA (NBP Stadium, Karachi), UBL v KRL (State Bank Ground, Karachi), SSGC v PTV (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).