KARACHI: Markhor IT Solutions (MIT) will face State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) in the final of the President’s Trophy Grade-I after finishing second in the eight-team standings at the conclusion of the league stage on Thursday.
The five-day final will be played at the SBP Sports Complex in Karachi from Oct 25 to 29.
MIT, who earned promotion from Grade-II earlier this year, accumulated 96 points to qualify for the final alongside State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), who topped the table with 107 points. Both teams recorded two wins, but SBP remained unbeaten throughout the competition.
Kingsmen Academy and Ghani Glass shared third place with 89 points each, followed by Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) on 83. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) finished sixth with 76 points, while Pakistan Television (PTV) collected 74. Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL), who ended at the bottom with 72 points, were relegated to President’s Trophy Grade-II.
SNGPL secured their place in the top tier with a four-wicket victory over KRL in Rawalpindi in the final round. Chasing a target that required 104 more runs with four wickets in hand, SNGPL slipped to 92-5 and then 135-6 before Abdul Samad guided them home.
Samad struck 69 off 103 balls, hitting 10 boundaries, and shared an unbeaten 58-run stand with Imran Randhawa, who contributed 31 not out off 32 balls, including five fours.
At the LCCA Ground in Lahore, OGDCL and Ghani Glass played out a draw. Resuming their second innings at 82-3, with a deficit of 96 runs, Ghani Glass came under pressure at 149-5 before Ali Razzaq and Hussain Talat turned the match around.
Ali remained unbeaten on 111 off 151 balls, while Hussain made 108 off 142 deliveries.
The pair added 109 runs for the sixth wicket as Ghani Glass established a lead of 202 when the teams agreed to a draw.
At the National Ground in Islamabad, Kingsmen Academy and SBP also settled for a draw. Chasing 295, SBP reached 208-3, with Hasan Raza unbeaten on 128 off 187 balls. He added 144 runs for the fourth wicket with Ali Shan, who scored 57 off 123.
Earlier, Kingsmen Academy declared their second innings at 321-8 in 44 overs, with captain Mohammad Tayyab Arif scoring 120 off 110 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes, to register his third first-class century of the season.
Published in Dawn, October 23rd, 2026
