KARACHI, Jan 25: Islamabad breezed into the final of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Silver League tournament after scoring a crushing two-day victory over Hyderabad at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Pace bowlers Rauf Akbar and Rao Iftikhar were instrumental in bundling out the visitors for 65 in the second innings with Rauf taking five 49 and Rao three for 15.

Needing 16 for a fourth straight win, Islamabad lost one wicket in securing all nine points to qualify for the Feb 7-11 final. And if they win that, Islamabad will be promoted to Gold League for the next season.

Earlier, Islamabad were all out for 156 in reply to Hyderabad’s first-innings tally of 106. Left-arm fast bowler Farhan Ayub returned career-best figures of seven for 71.

Scoreboard

HYDERABAD (1st Innings) 106 (Zohaib Ahmed 4-31).

ISLAMABAD (1st Innings, overnight 116-3):

Afaq Raheem lbw b Farhan 37

Atif Ashraf c Hanif Malik b Farhan 54

Bilal Asad lbw b Farhan 4

Fayyaz Ahmed b Farhan 33

Ameer Khan b Sufyan 4

Rao Iftikhar lbw b Farhan 1

Raja Kashif c Rizwan b Farhan 0

Zohaib Ahmed not out 7

Rauf Akbar c and b Nasir 4

Fakhir Hussain b Farhan 5

Ashar Zaidi retired out -

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-1, W-1, NB-4) 7

TOTAL (all out, 41.2 overs) 156

FALL OF WKTS: 1-76, 2-88, 3-101, 4-124, 5-125, 6-128, 7-142, 8-151, 9-156.

BOWLING: Farhan Ayub 20.2-3-71-7; Sufyan Ali 11-3-39-1 (1w); Lal Kumar 7-0-38-0 (3nb); Nasir Awais 3-0-8-1 (1nb).

HYDERABAD (2nd Innings):

Hanif Malik c Ameer b Rauf 10

Aqeel Anjum c and Rauf 4

Faisal Athar c Rao Iftikhar b Rauf 31

Hanif-ur-Rehman c Kashif b Rao Iftikhar 4

Rizwan Ahmed c Kashif b Rauf 0

Shahid Qambrani run out 0

Pir Zulfiqar b Rao Iftikhar 0

Lal Kumar lbw b Rao Iftikhar 2

Nasir Awais b Rauf 10

Farhan Ayub run out 0

Sufyan Ali not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-1, NB-1) 3

TOTAL (all out, 21.2 overs) 65

FALL OF WKTS: 1-6, 2-20, 3-25, 4-37, 5-37, 6-37, 7-39, 8-58, 9-60.

BOWLING: Rao Iftikhar 11-5-15-3; Rauf Akbar 10.2-3-49-5.

ISLAMABAD (2nd Innings):

Rao Iftikhar not out 9

Raja Kashif b Farhan 0

Fayyaz Ahmed not out 1

EXTRAS (LB-5, W-1) 6

TOTAL (for one wkt, 3.5 overs) 16

FALL OF WKT: 1-7.

BOWLING: Farhan 2-0-8-1; Sufyan Ali 1.5-0-3-0.

RESULT: Islamabad won by nine wickets.

UMPIRES: Mian Aslam and Rasheed Bhatti.

MATCH REFEREE: Azhar Khan.

OFFICIAL SCORER: Adnan Farooq.

Opinion

Editorial

GB polls’ aftermath
Updated 11 Jun, 2026

GB polls’ aftermath

The new administration must address the region’s issues proactively.
Peace in retreat
11 Jun, 2026

Peace in retreat

THE ceasefire announced in April was supposed to create space for negotiations. Instead, it has been repeatedly...
A few good men
11 Jun, 2026

A few good men

IT was a brave move, no doubt. This Tuesday, in the land of the Afghan Taliban, a few good men decided to take a...
Centre vs provinces
Updated 10 Jun, 2026

Centre vs provinces

The reason the centre finds itself in this position is rooted in its failure to expand the tax net and boost revenues.
Party in crisis
10 Jun, 2026

Party in crisis

THE young KP chief minister must be starting to realise just how thorny a seat he occupies. There has been a flurry...
Varsity woes
10 Jun, 2026

Varsity woes

FINANCIAL crises affecting public sector universities across Pakistan are now having an impact on academic...