KARACHI: After four days of uncertainty, normalcy returns in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and the Brighto Paints presents Cool & Cool National T20 Cup seems all set to reach its conclusion at the Pindi Cricket Stadium over the next two days.

The rescheduling of the competition means the semi-finals, which were originally slated for last Saturday, will be played on Wednesday — on a day when the spotlight falls on former Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal — with title favourites Lahore Whites taking on the Ajmal-led Faisalabad side at noon.

It could be an all-Lahore final on Thursday evening if the Whites prevailed in the first semi-final and Lahore Blues coming out winners against Fata in the other pre-final, which will start at 4:00pm.

The Lahore Whites-Faisalabad clash offers a lot at stake for both teams. A fortnight ago (Nov 15), these outfits were abruptly prevented from showcasing their real potential against each other when rain forced the league-round tie being abandoned after Faisalabad had made 29-2 in 5.3 overs.

But Lahore Blues, meanwhile, hold psychological edge over Fata on the basis of having won their head-to-head game on Nov 20 by 19 runs.

After his sensational unbeaten innings of 150 against Islamabad last Friday, Kamran Akmal looms as the biggest threat for Faisa­labad as the wicket-keeper/batsman looks to continue his red-hot form. He needs another 18 to reach 400 runs for the tournament.

Ajmal, for obvious reasons, is hoping to end his career on a high but he knows that if the Faisalabad bowlers fail to get Kamran early, it could be curtains for him as well as his charges.

Salman Butt as captain and Kamran’s opening partner is extremely lucky that he hardly needs to be rash in his approach. Even the lack of runs from Umar Akmal hasn’t hurt Lahore Whites thus far but they be overly delighted if the youngest Akmal finally comes to the party with a substantial contribution.

Faisalabad will be banking heavily on the rising opener Sahibzada Farhan and Sohaib Maqsood to provide stability with the bat against a decent Lahore Whites attack.

Fata have definitely a point to prove that their qualification to the knockout stage was no fluke, particularly after a section of the media queried their integrity during their haphazard victory against Faisalabad that eventually sealed Karachi Whites’ fate.

Hammad Azam knows the enormity of the challenge Fata could face against a Lahore Blues side which is brimming with confidence under the calm leadership of Mohammad Hafeez.

Wednesday’s fixtures: First semi-final — Lahore Whites vs Faisalabad (12:00noon); Second semi-final — Lahore Blues vs Fata (4:00pm).

Published in Dawn, November 29th, 2017