Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Super Eight second round from today

KARACHI: The second round of the Super Eight stage of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will begin here at different venues from Tuesday (today).

In the first round held here last week, holders Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL), Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) and Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) registered victories.

In a Group I match, here at State Bank of Pakistan Ground, KRL will face WAPDA. Salman Butt-led WAPDA will have to win this game if they are to stay alive in the event.In the first round outing, WAPDA lost by 76 runs to SNGPL.Test pacer Mohammad Abbas rocked WAPDA, as he picked 12 wickets.

KRL have nine points in their pocket which they earned by beating Lahore Blues in their opening round match by a whopping margin of 141. A win over WAPDA would enable them to emerge as a strong candidate for the final. Waleed Yaqoob and Alay Haider will supervise the match.

In the other Group I fixture, here at NBP Sports Complex, SNGPL will try to boost their final chances when they meet Lahore Blues. SNGPL will be without the services of Test pacer Mohammad Abbas for this outing because of his engagement with the Pakistan team, which would play their first Test against New Zealand in the UAE from November 16.

Muhammad Sajid and Tahir Rasheed will adjudicate this match.In a Group II match, here at Southend Club Ground, an interesting fight is expected when Karachi Whites face Peshawar. Both teams lost their first round fixtures.

Karachi Whites lost to Habib Bank Limited (HBL) who romped to an easy nine-wicket win.Peshawar were whipped by SSGC by 108 runs.Zameer Haider and Faisal Afridi will supervise the clash.

In the other Group II encounter, here at UBL Sports Complex, SSGC will take on HBL, led by former Pakistan Test opener Imran Farhat.Karachi Whites’ Khurram Manzoor leads the batting chart with 806 runs. He is followed by Umar Amin (SSGC, 629), Imran Farhat (HBL, 579), and Israrullah (Peshawar, 523).

Lahore Blues’ pacer Aizaz Cheema is the leading wicket-taker so far with 51 wickets to his credit. Kashif Bhatti of SSGC with 37 and Taj Wali of Peshawar with 36 are the second and the third, respectively. The leading side from each group will make it to the final.