Quaid Trophy final from today: Defending champions Sialkot to face Karachi Blues

LAHORE: Usama Mir-led Sialkot are upbeat to defend their title as they take on resurgent table toppers Karachi Blues led by Test batter Saud Shakeel with the final of the 68th edition of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy set to be played from December 1 to 5 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

The winner of the tournament will bag prize money of PKR 7.5 million, while the runners-up will be awarded PKR 4 million. Player of the final will be awarded PKR 100k, while best bowler, batter, wicket-keeper and player of the tournament will be awarded PKR 250k each.

Sialkot – who previously won in 2005-06, 2008-09 and 2024-25 seasons – will be looking to add a fourth title to their closet. Karachi Blues on the other hand have been the most successful team in Pakistan’s premier first-class event having won nine titles since 1961-62 season.

Overall various Karachi sides, including Blues, Whites, Urban and A have won a combined total of 21 titles and Saud’s side will be vying to keep the legacy intact with yet another tournament win. Most recently, it was Karachi Whites in 2023-24 season and Karachi Blues in 2012-13 season to lift the Quaid Trophy silverware from the cricket-rich region.

The 2012-13 Quaid Trophy final saw Karachi Blues and Sialkot lock horns in Lahore last time with the former taking the title by nine wickets in an emphatic performance.

In the ongoing edition, Karachi Blues have beaten Multan, Peshawar, Abbottabad, Islamabad and Sialkot in the 45-match league stage, where every team played nine matches. They drew against Lahore Whites, Faisalabad and lost to FATA and Bahawalpur.

Blues – who were among one of the four teams to qualify for the tournament from Hanif Mohammad Trophy held in August and September – revived their campaign after only one win and two losses from their first five matches to finish top. They will be eager to continue the four-match winning streak.

Sialkot have been in such rich form that their only loss in the tournament is a three-wicket defeat to Karachi Blues in the last round, where they fought hard both with the bat and ball. Their three drawn fixtures came against Peshawar, Faisalabad and Bahawalpur.

Such was the breakneck competition for the two berths in the final that one defeat against Karachi Blues had also put Sialkot on the brink of elimination but Bahawalpur’s come-from-behind win against the other contenders Faisalabad (141) did the reigning champions (155) a favour as they pipped the 2023 runners-up on the points table.

Test batter Mohammad Huraira is all set to appear in his fifth consecutive Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final after being part of Northern, Faisalabad and Sialkot in previous four seasons.

On the run-scoring charts Karachi’s wicketkeeper-batter Saad Baig sits atop with 930 runs apart from 27 dismissals behind the stumps, while Shamyl Hussain (899), Shahzaib Khan (838), Saad Khan (837) and Sialkot’s Azan Awais (790) are the other among top five. Interestingly, apart from Saad, the other four batters among the top five played the ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2024 together, where Pakistan finished in semi-finals.

The next best batters for Karachi and Sialkot on the run-scoring charts are Shan Masood (562) and Mohammad Huraira (560), respectively.

On the bowling front, Karachi Blues’ pacer Saqib Khan is joint-second with Mohammad Abbas having taken 38 wickets besides Multan’s Ali Usman’s 48. Khalid Usman (31) and Sajid Khan (30) occupy the next places, while Sialkot’s Test pacer Mohammad Ali (28) has the joint-sixth most scalps on the list. Sialkot’s Mehran Mumtaz (24) and Usama Mir (23) also pose solid threat with the ball.

Karachi Blues’ Kashif Bhatti (25), Muhammad Umar (24) and Mohammad Asghar (22) also form part of a strong Karachi Blues’ attack. Sialkot’s wicketkeeper-batter Afzaal Manzoor is leading the race with 26 catches and seven stumping, which make three more dismissals than Peshawar’s Mohammad Haris (30).

The two squads also carry plenty of international experience with them as Sialkot will be looking towards Test player Abdullah Shafique, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Ali and Huraira apart from Usama and guest player Mohammad Hasnain.

Saud Shakeel, Karachi Blues captain said, “It has been a long journey for us starting from the Hanif Mohammad Trophy where we played five matches. After being relegated, we were focused on qualifying for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and then the things fell in place for us during the nine-match league phase, where the players performed really well.”

Usama Mir, Sialkot captain said, “We didn’t change our approach from the last year’s campaign and our players have been relentless in their mindset and efforts. We have played our cricket with the champions mindset. As with the provision of spin and fast tracks at various venues during the tournament, we had befitting personnel to make our way out. I’m really happy with what my team has done. The combination of the team has been so good that the travelling between the nine games and different conditions didn’t bother us much. The final surely becomes a pressure game and becomes the gist of the season. We are looking forward to make it a memorable final for us.”

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