KP, CP share honours as Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final ends in historic tie

Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were declared joint winners of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2020-21 as their match became the first-ever final of a first-class tournament in history of cricket to end in a tie.

Needing 356 to win, Central Punjab fought back to level the scores before last man Waqas Maqsood was caught at mid-on by Kamran Ghulam off Sajid Khan.

The action-packed final day started with Central Punjab 140-2 and needing another 216 runs to defend the title.

However, the defending champions lost track we well as four wickets in the opening session and at one stage were 202 for six. They then lost another two wickets in the first hour after lunch.

With CP lagging behind at 249 for 8, KP looked certain to win the title. But Hassan Ali – the captain of Central Punjab – stood in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s march towards the title. 

He struck a 70-run partnership for the ninth wicket with Ahmed Safi Abdullah (35 off 23) and 36 runs for the 10th wicket with Maqsood.

Hassan completed his century off 58 deliveries in 94 minutes.

It was during the over number 118th of CP’s innings when Waqas ran two quick runs to level the score. The next ball, an excited Waqas aimed to play a winning shot but was caught by Kamran Ghulam as the final met a historic and thrilling end.

Resultantly, both the teams were declared joint winners of the 2020-21 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Hassan Ali was adjudged the man of the match for his 106 off 61 that included 7 sixes and 10 fours. He was also declared the man of the tournament for his flamboyant performances in throughout the event.

Kamran Ghulam, Rehan Afridi and Sajid Khan – all from KP – were respectively declared best batsman, best wicket-keeper and best bowler of the tournament.

Comments

Submit