KARACHI, Jan 13: Defending champions Karachi Whites face a few anxious days ahead as they battle to make the knock-out phase of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship.

Currently languishing in fifth spot of Group-II, Karachi Whites have to win against Dadu in the last round of league fixtures, starting on Tuesday.

On paper, Karachi Whites should have no problems in collecting maximum points against a side who has been most often found wanting at this level.

But given the unpredictabilities of this great game, a victory for the home team can’t be taken for granted.

If Karachi Whites are not successful in winning this inaugural first-class match at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park in Steel Town, then Bahawalpur and Multan will go through to the last 16 phase along with Allied Bank and Pak PWD from Group-II.

Another team striving to stay in contention is National Bank. Their cause has not been helped by dreadful weather. The bankers can’t afford to drop any points from the Group-I tie against Lahore Blues at Okara.

A first innings lead will obviously the main objective for last season’s Patron’s Trophy champions since the prevailing playing conditions in Punjab is unlikely to produce a conclusive result.

National Bank will also keep themselves in touch with the happenings in Faisalabad where the hosts meet Servis Industries. An outright win for the departmental outfit could mean the end of the road for the bankers.

Fifth round schedule (Jan 14-17):

Group-I: National Bank v Lahore Blues at Gymkhana Ground, Okara (Umpires: Jamil Kamran and Riazuddin. Match referee: Azhar Khan); Sargodha v Wapda at Sports Stadium, Sargodha (Umpires: Javed Iqbal and Rasheed Bhatti. Match referee: Musaddeq Rasool); Faisalabad v Servis Industries at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (Umpires: Tasaddeq Jamal and Waqar A. Mughal. Match referee: Munawwar Agha).

Group-II: Allied Bank v Pak PWD at UBL Sports Complex, Karachi (Umpires: Sadiq Khan and M.H. Dars. Match referee: Sadiq Mohammad); Karachi Whites v Dadu at Quaid-i-Azam Cricket Park (Steel Town), Karachi (Umpires: Athar Zaidi and Zamir Haider. Match referee: Fahimuddin Alvi); Bahawalpur v Multan at Bahawalpur Stadium, Bahawalpur. Umpires: Siddique Khan and Khalid Mahmood Sr. Match referee: Shaukat Mirza).

Group-III: Lahore Whites v Sialkot at LCCA Ground, Lahore (Umpires: Salim Badar and Ehtesham-ul-Haq. Match referee: Anwar Khan); Habib Bank v Gujranwala at Lahore Country Club, Muridke (Umpires: Ijaz Ahmed and Asad Rauf. Match referee: Shafiq Ahmed); Sheikhupura v Pakistan Customs at Sheikhupura Stadium, Sheikhupura (Umpires: Mian Aslam and Tariq Cheema. Match referee: Ehteshamuddin).

Group-IV: ZTBL v Karachi Blues at KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi (Umpires: Mohammad Nazir Junior and Sajjad Asghar. Match referee: Saadat Ali); Rawalpindi v PIA at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi (Umpires: Afzaal Ahmed and Iqbal Butt. Match referee: Ameer Akbar); Peshawar v KRL at Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar (Umpires: Nadeem Ghauri and Kaubab Butt. Match referee: Farrukh Zaman).