Khyber Pakhtunkhwa retained the prestigious Quaid-e-Azam Trophy with a resounding 169-run win over Northern in the five-day day-night final for the 2021-22 edition at the National Stadium, Karachi on Wednesday.
Northern who were set a 384-run target on the final day, went down fighting as they were bowled out for 214 in their second innings with 18.4 overs left in the final session of the match.
Huraira, later adjudged the best batter of the tournament, got Northern off to a flying start in their monumental chase. The right-hander made history when he scored the seventh run of his innings as he surpassed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Sahibzada Farhan tally of 935 runs in the tournament, setting a unique record of topping the batting charts in his maiden first-class season.
The Sialkot-born played a series of delightful shots in his 57 off 49 balls (six fours). Huraira’s dismissal at 105 was a big setback for Northern as their hopes of chasing down the target subsided quickly. Captain Umar Amin followed Huraira to the dressing room after contributing 33 off 40 balls (three fours).
Northern kept losing wickets in their hunt for quick runs as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bowlers kept making inroads. Northern were 156 for five at the dinner break and their batting efforts quickly subsided as the lower-order was sent packing cheaply.
Mubasir Khan, who was later adjudged the player of the tournament for his all-round contributions for Northern was the last player dismissed with a delighted Khyber Pakhtunkhwa captain Iftikhar Ahmed taking his catch off off-spinner Sajid Khan.
Sajid who took four wickets in the first innings added a five-wicket haul in the second innings to spearhead the Northern batting demise in the second innings.
Iftikhar who was later declared the player of the match for his all-round efforts in the final, took two wickets with his off-spinners while Mohammad Wasim Jnr took two wickets for 38 runs.
Earlier, resuming their second innings with a 270-run advantage, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa succeeded in taking their lead to 383 courtesy Rehan Afridi’s 79 and Sajid Khan’s valuable 39-run contribution in the lower-order.
Afridi who was unbeaten overnight, reached his 50 today. He was dismissed for an enterprising 79 off 110 balls (eight fours, one six). Sajid used the long handle effectively in his 39 off 48 balls (two fours, two sixes).
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were eventually bowled out for 265, setting Northern a 384-run target in a minimum of 64 overs. Left-arm-spinner Mohammad Nawaz took four while Musa Khan took three wickets conceding 65 and 71 runs respectively.
Scores in brief:
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 374 all out, 118.2 overs (Iftikhar Ahmed 102, Kamran Ghulam 72, Asif Afridi 68; Mubasir Khan 4-52, Waqas Ahmed 3-94) and 265 all out, 79.2 overs (Rehan Afridi 79, Fakhar Zaman 50, Sajid Khan 39; Mohammad Nawaz 4-65, Musa Khan 3-71)
Northern 256 all out, 83.2 overs (Haider Ali 81, Sarmad Bhatti 57, Mohammad Huraira 51; Sajid Khan 4-54, Mohammad Wasim Jnr 4-65) and 214 all out, 45.2 overs (Mohammad Huraira 57, Faizan Riaz 49, Umar Amin 33; Sajid Khan 5-33, Iftikhar Ahmed 2-32, Mohammad Wasim Jnr 2-38)
First innings points: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – Seven. Northern – Four.
Best Batter – Mohammad Huraira
Best Bowler – Ali Usman
Best Wicketkeeper – Rohail Nazir
Player of the Tournament – Sahibzada Farhan
Player of the final – Iftikhar Ahmed.
