October 27, 2001	Saturday	Shaba'an 9, 1422

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KARACHI, Oct 26: The Patron’s Trophy Grade-I National Cricket Championship is poised for dramatic finale with three rounds left and six teams within reach of clinching the title.

National Bank came from behind to score a miraculous victory over KRL that helped them retain their position at the top of the standings — six points clear of reigning champions Pakistan Customs.

Last season’s runners-up face seven-time champions Habib Bank in the pick of the seventh round matches at Sheikhupura Stadium Saturday.

Customs, meanwhile, were held to a dull draw by PWD in the sixth round tie. They take on PIA, who lost their unbeaten record against Wapda, at UBL Sports Complex here.

The PIA-Customs clash will be worth watching but if the pitch at UBL Sports Complex is similar in character to the one that staged the last game, a draw seems inevitable.

National Stadium also enters the first-class fray for first time this season Saturday when PWD meet ADBP. The former have the edge here because they possess an impressive pace attack which will exploit the prevailing conditions.

Wapda, with two successive wins under their belt, have a golden chance of making three-in-a-row in their encounter against Sui Gas, who have yet to get off the mark on the points table, at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad.

Allied Bank and KRL, both having identical track record, square off in Sialkot.

Seventh round schedule (Oct 27-30):

Pakistan Customs v PIA at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi (Umpires: Saleem Badar and Nazir Jr. Match referee: Mahmood Rasheed).

ADBP v PWD at National Stadium, Karachi (Umpires: Sadiq Mohammad and Z.I. Pasha. Match referee: Naeem Ahmed).

Allied Bank v KRL at Saga Ground, Sialkot (Umpires: Islam Khan and Feroz Butt. Match referee: Jalil Ahmed).

Habib Bank v National Bank at Sheikhupura Stadium (Umpires: Aleem Dar and Mian Aslam. Match referee: Rizwan Khateeb).

Wapda v Sui Gas at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (Umpires: Siddique Khan and Nadeem Ghauri. Match referee: Mian Pervez).