Karachi: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) thumped the Higher Education Commission (HEC) by 109 runs in the last round of the President’s Trophy and will now face the Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) in the final.

The final of the seven-team tournament will run from January 27 to 31. WAPDA topped the standings with 62 points in seven matches, followed by SNGPL with 57 points in as many matches. HEC required 283 runs to win with nine wickets in the bag at the start of the day. Skipper Saad Khan hung around in the middle and faced 149 balls to score 65 runs comprising six boundaries and two sixes before falling prey to Mubasir Khan. Muhammad Awais Zafar (50, 77b, 5x4s, 2x6s) played well for his half-century before being dismissed by Mohammad Awais Anwar.

Opening batter, Mohammad Mohsin Khan (7, 16b) returned to bat after retiring out last evening. He was outfoxed by Shahnawaz Dahani who went on to hand a golden duck to Sohaib Sultan as well bringing HEC to 133-4.

Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (54, 97b, 6x4s) too put up resistance scoring a gutsy half-century but Dahani dismissed him as well.

Umar Lohya (12, 20b, 2x4s) and Waseem Akram’s (20 32b, 2x6s) outings were cut short after they got off to decent starts. HEC lost their last five scalps for just 53 runs while falling 109 runs short of the target.

Dahani, running riot with the ball, picked up his second first-class five-wicket haul giving away 54 runs in 15 overs. Awais Anwar and Mubasir returned with two wickets each while Mohammad Ali dismissed one batter.

The other last-round fixture of the President’s Trophy that concluded on Monday saw WAPDA edging Pakistan Television Network (PTV) by three wickets.

Published in The Daily National Courier, January, 25 2024

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