Lahore: Karachi Blues lifted the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy after defeating defending champions Sialkot by 218 runs in the five-day final at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Chasing a challenging 533-run target, Sialkot were bowled out for 314. Karachi Blues secured the title for the 10th time, while it marked the 22nd overall Quaid-e-Azam Trophy triumph for Karachi-based teams.
Resuming the final day at 12 without loss, Sialkot needed 521 more runs for victory. The first breakthrough came at 35, when Saqib Khan dismissed Azan Awais (11) lbw. Mohammad Huraira was caught by Saad Baig off Mohammad Umar for 39, leaving Sialkot 81 for 2. Abdul Rehman fell for 18, caught by Abdullah Fazal off Ramiz Aziz, with the score 121 for 3.
Sialkot’s troubles deepened as Mohsin Riaz (6) and Abdullah Shafique (59) were dismissed with the total reaching 144, both wickets going to Saqib Khan.
Afzal Manzoor led a counter-attack, scoring 63 with the help of 13 boundaries, before getting out to Ramiz Aziz. He added a vital 112-run partnership for the sixth wicket with Hamza Nazir, who scored 56 with nine fours before being caught by Saad Baig off Mushtaq Ahmed. The seventh wicket fell at 281.
Hasan Ali contributed 25, but was dismissed by Mushtaq Ahmed at 304. The ninth wicket went down at 310 when Saqib Khan had Mohammad Ali (6) caught by Saad Baig. Saqib completed a superb five-wicket haul by bowling Hasnain for a duck, finishing with 5 for 86 after also taking four wickets in the first innings. He ended the tournament with an outstanding 47 wickets.
The Player of the Match award went to Abdullah Fazal for his impressive all-round batting performance, scoring 88 in the first innings and 114 in the second.