KARACHI: Peshawar clin­ched their third List A title after overhauling Karachi Whites by five wickets in the Pakistan Cup final at Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.

The Sahibzada Farhan-led side was boosted by immaculate bowling shows by pacers Mohammad Imran and Abbas Afridi, who bagged four and three wickets respectively to bundle Karachi out for 103.

Peshawar chased down the target in less than 18 overs as Pakistan international Mohammad Haris smashed 46 off 33 balls.

Karachi Whites started slow after they were asked to bat first by Peshawar but the caution proved counterproductive for them. They lost opener Habibullah as early as in the eighth over – the right-hander nicking Imran’s left-arm pace to wicket-keeper Haris.

Habibullah’s opening partner Saim Ayub was Imran’s next victim before Abbas made Omair bin Yousuf his first. Veteran Asad Shafiq was undone by Peshawar spinner Azam Khan while Danish Aziz, who looked in decent form, was run out by Nabi Gul’s brilliant fielding effort.

The pacers dealt the finishing blow as Mohammad Ilyas dismissed Karachi captain Sarfraz Ahmed (22 off 25), thanks to an acrobatic catch by Iftikhar Ahmed, before Imran got Karachi’s highest scorer Azam Khan (30 off 46, five fours) and Anwar Ali.Abbas finished off the tail with two more wickets.

Peshawar approached the paltry target with an aggressive approach and kept the scoreboard ticking despite losing wickets in the process. They did not have much to worry about with Haris on the crease, whose innings was studded with seven blistering fours and a six.

Spinners Danish and Noman Ali took two wickets each for Karachi.

Multan’s Haseebullah was named the player of the tournament while also bagging the best wicket-keeper award for his tally of 326 runs including two centuries and 10 dismissals. Saim topped the batting chatting charts with 397 runs in eight innings and was duly named best batter of the tournament.

Multan leg-spinner Zahid Mehmood and Peshawar fast bowler Abbas Afridi were the joint winners for the best bowler award with 15 wickets each. For his impactful figures of 4-28, Imran was declared player of the final.

Scores in brief:

KARACHI WHITES 103 in 31.2 overs (Azam Khan 30, Sarfraz Ahmed 22; Mohammad Imran 4-28, Mohammad Abbas Afridi 3-20); PESHAWAR 108-5, 17.2 overs (Mohammad Haris 46; Noman Ali 2-19).

Published in Dawn, November 20th, 2023