KARACHI: In almost repeat of the final three seasons ago, Karachi Whites will be hoping to continue their dominance against Peshawar when the duo clash for the National One-day Cup for Regions title here on Friday.

The curtains will come down on what had been a tournament of truncated matches until the PCB belatedly decided to reschedule the three knockout fixtures to the National Stadium in Karachi where the conditions are just perfect for cricket — a stark contrast to the bleak, overcast surroundings offered by Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Peshawar where collectively no less than 10 out of 28 schedule league-round games saw no action at all.

The semi-finals provided three 300-plus totals in four innings — another key element that was sadly missing during the reduced league-stage matches. Two big individual centuries contributed to Karachi Whites and Peshawar reaching the final.

A day after former international Shahzaib Hasan had plundered a career-high 171 in the 70-run defeat of Islamabad, another opener stole the show on Tuesday when the left-handed Israrullah hammered an unbeaten 153 before Peshawar tamed Karachi Blues by 23 runs in the other semi-final. Both head coaches — Saleem Jaffer of Karachi Whites and Peshawar’s Abdul Rehman — anticipate a close game on Friday’s televised fixture.

Wednesday evening’s moderate rains have made the outfield even more attractive with the pitch unlikely to dictate terms, according to the assessment of both Saleem and Rehman who indicated a dry surface that would play true and the toss won’t make any difference.

“I think it would be a great match. We have been on a roll, having not lost a single match thus far but the final is a different game altogether,” Saleem, the ex-Pakistan paceman and former national selector, opined while talking to Dawn on Thursday. “The players of both teams will be under pressure. We need to be at our best because Peshawar have a very good side. There is no doubt Iftikhar Ahmed and Israrullah hold the key and their bowlers, led by Imran Khan [Sr], have created problems for the opposition.

“But I think the way Shahzaib batted in the [semi-final] win over Islamabad was something really astonishing. And if he plays in the same vein, then Peshawar should watch out!”

Apart from Shahzaib, Karachi Whites will be heavily banking on the all-round prowess of Pakistan discard Anwar Ali to inspire them. Anwar scored a rapid 45 before returning career-best figures of 5-49 in last Monday’s semi-final.

Rehman, who has been the driving force behind Peshawar’s rise on the domestic circuit with back-to-back National T20 crowns, has the earned the sobriquet of a man with the magic wand. Like Saleem, Rehman also expected his charges to give Karachi Whites a run for their money.

“We always remain optimistic with a settled squad of players. Karachi Whites are a good side and we respect them highly. The last time we lost to Karachi [in Dec 2013] was due to the fact we had a side which was in the development stages,” Rehman pointed out. “Each individual knows his role and that is the secret of our success. It’s nice to have a good blend of players who are never shy on the big stage. That is exactly what we collectively strive for.

Teams (from):

KARACHI WHITES: Arsalan Bashir, Shahzaib Hasan, Akbar-ur-Rehman (captain), Saad Ali, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Hasan, Anwar Ali, Tariq Haroon, Azam Hussain, Tabish Khan, Ghulam Mudassar, Faraz Ali, Raza-ul-Hasan, Ahsan Ali.

PESHAWAR: Ashfaq Ahmed, Israrullah, Gauhar Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Akbar Badshah, Jamaluddin (captain), Sajid Khan, Khalid Usman, Shah Faisal, Imran Khan Sr, Taj Wali, Imran Khan Jr, Musadiq Ahmed, Mohammad Mohsin.

Umpires: Ahsan Raza and Shozab Raza.

TV umpire: Ahmed Shahab.

Match referee: Mohammad Anees.

Fourth umpire: Khalid Mahmood.

Scorers: Syed Imran Ali (official), Salman Hussain Kazmi (media).

Published in Dawn, January 27th, 2017