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KARACHI, Jan 25: No one could have predicted a Patron's Trophy final between Water and Power Development Authority (Wapda) and Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) had things gone according to plans for heavyweights of domestic cricket.
The five-day encounter, which gets under way from Monday at National Stadium, can be aptly described as the battle of the bridesmaids between two unfancied outfits boasting just one current Test star.
The mere presence of Abdul Razzaq, the Pakistan all-rounder, tilts the balance in favour of ZTBL, who had won this championship thrice in 1990-91, 1993-94 and 1995-96 under their old name of Agriculture Development Bank of Pakistan (ADBP).
Wapda, in contrast, have never won a single cricket trophy in their history. However, they finished runners-up to PIA in last season's Patron's Cup. Without meaning to discredit them, Wapda made it to the final here in bizarre circumstances when Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) fell prey to the rain that ruined their prospects so badly.
The Wapda squad had returned to its base in Lahore soon after their last league fixture 10 days ago. But the unexpected happened and Wapda qualified having topped Pool 'A' while KRL cursed their misfortune as the last league fixture against Bangladesh 'A' was washed out.
ZTBL, on the other hand, earned their place on merit by scoring a comprehensive victory over Habib Bank to claim top spot in Pool 'B'. Given the current state of the pitch, which had appreciable amount of 'live' grass at the time of filing this report, it is likely that the title will be decided in much shorter time.
Apart from cash incentive, with the winners taking home Rs200,000, the teams will have the unexpected advantage of being watched live by their supporters around the country as the state-owned Pakistan Television (PTV) have decided to telecast the final.
It is a pity that the PTV and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) failed to initiate a move to televise Sunday's Patron's Cup final between PIA and Habib Bank which featured a number of current stars.
Teams (from):
Wapda: Zahid Umar (captain), Adil Nisar, Atiq-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Zaman, Shoaib Khan, Tariq Aziz, Hasan Adnan, Rizwan Malik, Asif Hussain, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Farooq Iqbal, Waqas Ahmed, Aqeel Ahmed, Faisal Irfan, Sohail Nasir.
ZTBL: Rao Iftikhar (captain), Zeeshan Mohsin, Atif Ashraf, Zahoor Elahi, Shahid Yousuf, Faisal Naveed, Naveed Quershi, Javed Hayat, Abdul Razzaq, Adnan Akmal, Mubashir Nazir, Mohammad Siddique, Imran Sabir, Munir Ansari, Raheel Majeed, Shakeel Ahmed.
Umpires: Afzaal Ahmed and Asad Rauf.
TV umpire: Islam Khan.
Match referee: Sadiq Mohammad.
