KARACHI: For the second time this season, Karachi Blues were left wondering what it takes to win a national title after Faisalabad ruthlessly crushed their aspirations inside two days of actual play in what was originally scheduled to be a four-day final of the PCB Under-19 Inter-region (three-day) competition in Mirpur.

In late August, Peshawar had trumped Karachi’s hopes by winning, also in Mirpur, the one-day title with equal proficiency by seven wickets in a low-scoring final.

The result on Sunday at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium in Azad Kashmir was never in doubt following Faisalabad’s complete domination on Saturday’s first day when they had serenely advanced to 237-3 with Irfan Khan scoring an unbeaten ton after paceman Asim Iqbal had delivered the early blows upon Karachi Blues with a rich haul of 7-39 in a dismal total of 104.

Sunday’s day-two lasted even shorter in terms of playing time. Early action saw Faisalabad themselves suffer a dramatic collapse when they nosedived from 244-3 to 258-8, losing five wickets in the space of just 14 runs including Mohammad Irfan Khan who could add just seven runs to his overnight score of 107. Irfan’s dazzling 128-ball innings contained eight boundaries and three sixes while his fourth-wicket partnership with Ahmed Butt (43 off 76 balls, five fours) yielded 116 runs.

Ali Haider (41 off 51 balls, three boundaries) and Mohammad Bilal Javed (9) foiled Karachi Blues’ spirited comeback by adding exactly 50 for the unfinished ninth-wicket stand as Faisalabad’s first innings closed at 308-8 in the stipulated 83 overs.

Beginning their second innings with a mountain to climb — since Faisalabad had garnered a commanding lead of 204 — Karachi Blues only managed to outlast their first-innings shambolic performance by only 8.3 overs as they crumbled in 35.4 overs for 138 to leave Faisalabad not only deserving winners by an innings and 66 runs but also richer by Rs600,000 awarded to their captain Suleman Shafqat along with the champions’ trophy.

Asim, who bagged another four wickets for 36 runs — a feat exactly matched by his fellow paceman Ali Mustafa — was adjudged man-of-the-final for his magnificent match bag of 11-75.

Karachi Blues skipper Obaisullah Khan claimed the runners-up trophy and cash prize of Rs300,000 on behalf of his demoralised team-mates.

Suleman further was richer individually by Rs25,000 after finishing the competition with 46 wickets, while Abbottabad’s Afaq Ahmed won the best batsman award for amassing 563 runs in the championship.

Scoreboard

KARACHI BLUES (1st Innings) 104 (Saif Ali 33, Anas Ilyas 25; Asim Iqbal 7-39).

FAISALABAD (1st Innings, overnight 237-3):

Zohaib Amanat c Haris b Nadir 58

Saif Ali c and b Ghazi 1

M. Awais Zafar c Mustafa b Nadir 27

M. Irfan Khan c Tariq b Nadir 114

Ahmed Butt lbw b Tariq 43

Mishal Khan c Haris b Nadir 8

Ali Haider not out 41

Suleman Shafqat b Nadir 2

Ali Mustafa lbw b Nadir 0

Mohammad Bilal Javed not out 9

EXTRAS (LB-2, W-3) 5

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 83 overs) 308

FALL OF WKTS: 1-7, 2-77, 3-128, 4-256, 5-256, 6-256, 7-258, 8-258.

DID NOT BAT: Asim Iqbal.

BOWLING: Mohammad Mustafa 7-0-31-0 (2w); Ghazi Nasir 4-0-17-1; Tariq Khan 36-2-126-1; Nadir Shah 27-3-93-6; Ali Nasim 5-1-25-0; Mohammad Nafay 4-0-14-0.

KARACHI BLUES (2nd Innings):

Taha Mahmood lbw b Asim 2

Mohammad Mustafa c Irfan b Mishal 2

Haris Bin Tahir c Saif b Bilal 31

Ali Nasim c Mishal b Asim 25

Obaisullah Khan b A. Mustafa 13

Anas Ilyas c Asim b A. Mustafa 2

Saif Ali b A. Mustafa 28

Mohammad Nafay b Asim 18

Ghazi Nasir b A. Mustafa 8

Nadir Shah not out 0

Tariq Khan c Awais b Asim 1

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-5, NB-2) 8

TOTAL (all out, 35.4 overs) 138

FALL OF WKTS: 1-3, 2-10, 3-46, 4-76, 5-78, 6-82, 7-125, 8-133, 9-137.

BOWLING: Asim Iqbal 9.4-1-36-4 (1nb, 5w); Mishal 4-1-8-1; Suleman Shafqat 8-2-29-0; Ali Mustafa 8-1-36-4 (1w); Mohammad Bilal Javed 6-0-28-1.

RESULT: Faisalabad won by an innings and 66 runs.

UMPIRES: Aftab Gillani and Mohammad Kaleem.

MATCH REFEREE: Khalid Jamshed.

OFFICIAL SCORER: Syed Najam-us-Saeed.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Asim Iqbal.

Published in Dawn, October 8th, 2018