KARACHI: Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) and Habib Bank will aim for maximum points when they face considerably weaker opponents in the sixth-round matches of the RBS Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship from Monday.

Both teams have accumulated 33 points at the top of Group ‘A’ with SNGPL currently topping the standings by virtue of playing one game less than Habib Bank. SNGPL play Pakistan Customs who finally ended their run of three straight losses with a much-needed victory over the winless Lahore Shalimar in the fifth round.

While SNGPL and Customs meet at the Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad Habib Bank take on the struggling Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi.

However, the pick of matches in the latest round is the National Bank-PIA fixture at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Third-placed National Bank have definite edge over PIA, who are in fourth spot six points behind the bankers, whose poor bowling performance was the reason which enabled Wapda defeat them last week.

Meanwhile, there are three ‘local derby’ fixtures in the coming round of matches. Traditional rivals Karachi and Lahore are involved in two of these games. Karachi Whites travel to meet Lahore Shalimar in the Group ‘A’ tie at the Gaddafi Stadium, while Group ‘A’ leaders Karachi Blues face Lahore Ravi, who have yet to win a match this season, here at the National Stadium.

The third derby fixture pits high-flying Rawalpindi against neighbours Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital.

Schedule (Nov 9-12):

Group ‘A’: Lahore Shalimar v Karachi Whites (Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore); National Bank v PIA (Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad); Pakistan Customs v SNGPL (Marghzar Cricket Ground, Islamabad); Habib Bank v SSGC (KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi); Wapda v ZTBL (Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala).

Group ‘B’: Karachi Blues v Lahore Ravi (National Stadium, Karachi); Islamabad v Rawalpindi (Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad); Faisalabad v Quetta (Sports Stadium, Sargodha); Abbottabad v Peshawar (National Ground, Islamabad); Hyderabad v Multan (Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad).