RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Television (PTV) captain Amad Butt led his team to a thrilling three-wicket victory over State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in the President’s Trophy Grade-I final here at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday.

This triumph marked Amad’s second major title in recent months, having previously led Sialkot to Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2024-25 glory.

PTV’s Muhammad Shahzad was named player-of-the-match for his outstanding performance, which included a first-innings haul of 5-29, featuring a hat-trick, and an unbeaten 125.

Resuming their second innings at 69-1, requiring 84 runs to win, PTV lost six wickets but ultimately achieved the target in the 41st over. The 20-year-old Shamyl Hussain top-scored with 58 off 67 balls, including seven fours, after resuming undefeated on 44.

Left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti cla­imed four wickets for 58 in 13.1 overs, ending the match with seven scalps.

The foundation for PTV’s victory was laid on Thursday, when Amad’s sensational five-wicket haul put his side on the brink of victory.

With SBP trailing by 75 runs, they resumed their second innings on 37-1 but were eventually bowled out for 264 in 76.2 overs, setting a target of 153.

Rameez Aziz top-scored for SBP with a 97-ball 47, while Pakistan Test batter Saud Shakeel contributed 45 off 82 balls.

Opener Imran Butt also played a 42-run knock for SBP while last man Mohammad Ismail added 27 runs in the total.

Mohammad Irfan Khan (23) and Mohammad Ghazi Ghouri (24) got decent starts, but failed to convert them into bigger totals.

SBP skipper Umar Amin only managed to score nine runs while veteran left-hand batter Fawad Alam made 12 runs.

Amad ended up with impressive figures of 5-84 in 27 overs, receiving support from Ali Usman and Mohammad Ibtisam, who claimed two wickets each.

Wapda’s Ayaz Tasawar topped the tournament’s run-scoring charts with an impressive tally of 867 runs in 15 innings, followed closely by Shamyl who accumulated 727 runs in 14 innings.

Scoreboard

SBP (1st Innings) 205 (Imran Butt 89; Mohammad Shahzad 5-29)

PTV (1st Innings) 317 (Mohammad Shahzad 125 not out, Waqar Hussain 106; Kashif Bhatti 3-53, Mohammad Abbas 3-71)

SBP (2nd Innings) 264 (Rameez Aziz 47, Saud Shakeel; Amad Butt 5-84)

PTV (2nd Innings):

Shamyl Hussain c Niaz b Kashif58

Imam-ul-Haq c Ghazi b Ismail21

Waqar Hussain c Umar b Kashif0

Mohammad Mohsin c Ghazi b Abbas19

Mohammad Taha c Ismail b Kashif15

Taimur Khan st Ghazi b Kashif10

Amad Butt not out17

Mohammad Shahzad c Ghazi b Abbas1

Ali Usman not out8

DID NOT BAT: Mehran Sanwal, Mohammad Ibtisam

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-2, NB-2)5

TOTAL (for seven wickets, 40.1 overs)154

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-69, 2-69, 3-102, 4-104, 5-123, 6-136, 7-137

BOWLING: Abbas 18-6-51-2, Niaz 5-0-28-0 (2nb), Ismail 3-0-13-1, Rameez 1-0-1-0, Kashif 13-1-58-4

RESULT: PTV won the final by three wickets.

Published in Dawn, March 8th, 2025