Race for final intensifies as Quaid-e-Azam Trophy’s ninth round begins today

KARACHI: The ninth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (first-class) will begin here at different venues on Monday (today).

The table toppers Central Punjab and second-placed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will meet here at the NBP Sports Complex in what could be a mouth-watering showdown.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s big win by an innings and 122 runs over Balochistan in the previous round helped them leapfrog Southern Punjab and Northern to the second spot and another win in either of their next two matches may guarantee them a berth in the final of the country’s premier first-class tournament.

They, however, have a challenging task at their hands as they face table-toppers Central Punjab, who have recorded three wins in eight matches. Central Punjab enter the match after securing a draw against Sindh on the back of second innings centuries by the Akmal brothers.

They were behind Sindh for the most part of the match as their star-studded batting line-up failed to live up to the expectations in the first innings. But, gutsy 122 and 166 by Umar and Kamran in the second innings, respectively, ensured Central Punjab’s impeccable record stayed intact.

Central Punjab key batsman Salman Butt expects exciting cricket in the ninth round. “Although Central Punjab are at the top of the table but competition is tough as two rounds are yet to go,” Salman said at a news conference here on Sunday. “We cannot take it lightly as the next two matches are also very important. Such a close standing has turned this round very important and you will see exciting cricket,” he said.

Uplifted by their maiden win of the tournament, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will try to take a leaf out of Sindh’s book and look to strangle Central Punjab’s batting upfront. That it was their bowling unit which delivered the win is something which will add to the excitement when the two top-ranked teams clash.

Central Punjab captain Ahmed Shehzad said: “We are going to make sure that we don’t repeat the mistakes we made in the last game. Yes, there were hiccups, but we are learning every game and improving day-by-day,” Shehzad said.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa head coach Kabir Khan said: “Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have had a decent run in the season. Our batsmen and bowlers were delivering and we often found ourselves in control of the matches, but we weren’t able to translate those into wins.”

Central Punjab head the table with 117 points. KP follow them with 97 points. Southern Punjab are third with 91 points, Northern have 84 points, Sindh are fifth with 69 points, and Balochistan are at the rock bottom with 68.

Sindh need a win to stay alive in the tournament. But they are facing Southern Punjab here at National Stadium, a side to whom they have lost previously in the tournament.

Sindh made an impressive comeback, putting up performances in both batting and bowling departments, in the last round after their loss to Northern, who then were languishing at the bottom of the points table. Four of their batsmen scored half-centuries, including captain Sarfraz Ahmed, with the bowling unit, spearheaded by Tabish Khan, tightening the screws around the Central Punjab batsmen.

They will look to build on their performance in the last match against Southern Punjab, who succeeded in securing a draw against Northern after being forced to follow-on thanks to Umar Siddiq’s brilliant second innings century, which was supported by half-centuries from Zeeshan Ashraf and Sohaib Maqsood.

So, along with working out the strategy to ensure the highest run-getter of the tournament, Sami Aslam, is not allowed the time to adjust, Sarfaraz will also have to draw plans for Umar, Zeeshan and Sohaib.

Sindh coach Azam Khan said that they are facing issues with their pace battery. “Some of our pacers face injuries and they are also tired as eight rounds have been completed. Our spin department is not effective,” Azam said.

“The biggest issue was that six of our playing XI players left us for Pakistan team and national emerging side and it made a big difference. We tried to make a comeback but we could not do so,” he said.

Southern Punjab coach Abdur Rehman was confident of beating Sindh. “So far we have played top cricket and are at the third place now. We will make every effort to beat Sindh to once again come in the final spots race,” Rehman said.

“We beat Sindh in our previous game and I am confident we will repeat that performance,” he was quick to add. Northern followed up their maiden win of the season in the seventh round with an impressive performance against Southern Punjab at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi. They scored 463 runs at an impressive run-rate of 4.22, and their bowlers, by taking 14 wickets, tightened the screws to enforce a follow-on.

They play Balochistan here at UBL Sports Complex, who will look to make the most of the pressure on the Imran Farhat-led side. Like Sindh, Balochistan have to win their last two matches to stay in contention.