KARACHI: Karachi Blues qualified for the final of the PCB Under-19 Inter-region three-day tournament in Mirpur on Saturday while securing three points in the drawn triangular-stage fixture against Lahore Blues.

The Lahore side will head home since they also conceded first-innings lead to Faisalabad in the opening match of the triangular phase at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium, reducing the last three-day game between Karachi and Faisalabad, starting on Monday, to a game of academic interest with the last two cities now assured of playing the four-day final at the same venue from Oct 6.

The last day belonged to Karachi’s slow left-armer Ahmed Farooq who grabbed six wickets for 43 runs in 18 overs as Lahore Blues were dismissed for 218 after having resumed their overnight second innings at 76-2.

Batting a second time, Karachi Blues reached 107-2 with opener Taha Mahmood scoring an unbeaten 57.

Scores and result on Saturday (final day of three):

Triangular stage, round two:

At Mirpur Cricket Stadium, Mirpur: Match drawn.

LAHORE BLUES 270-7 in 83 overs (Uzair Nasir 79 not out, Zain Bin Farooq 56, Ibtisam-ul-Haq 53, Fahad Munir 29; Nadir Shah 6-85) and 218 in 59.4 overs (Syed Taqi Bilgrami 67, Fahad Munir 54, Qasim Akram 24; Ahmed Farooq 6-43); KARACHI BLUES 321 in 82 overs (Anas Ilyas 92, Obaisullah Khan 72, Mohammad Nafay 43, Nadir Shah 35, Saif Ali 20; Mohammad Bilal Khan 3-106, Fahad Munir 2-24, Usama Tariq 2-75) and 107-2 in 43 overs (Taha Mahmood 57 not out).

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2018