The final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Central Punjab in Karachi ended in a historic tie, with the two teams sharing the coveted trophy. Central Punjab needed just 1 run to win when Waqas Maqsood, the last man, lofted Sajid Khan straight into the hands of the fielder positioned at mid-on. This was the first-ever tied game in the history of the tournament and also only the 67th tied game in the history of first-class cricket.
In what turned out to be a dramatic final, Central Punjab had slipped 249 for 8 in pursuit of a target of 356. However, Hasan Ali batting at number 8 and the captain of the side, composed a stunning unbeaten 106 off just 61 balls to raise hopes of a come-from-behind win. He was supported by Ahmed Safi Abdullah, the left-arm spinner, as the pair shared a partnership of 70 for the ninth wicket.
Even after the 21-year-old medium pacer, Sameen Gul, removed Abdullah, Hasan strung together another crucial alliance of 36 with Maqsood before Sajid picked up the important wicket.
A dejected Maqsood was on his knees with Hasan patting his team-mate. It was an inspiring innings from Hasan as the Central Punjab captain took on the spinners with slog-sweeps and hoicks across the line. He also took the aggressive route against the seamer, Irfanullah. Hasan was also adjudged the Man of the Match for picking up five wickets and scoring a hundred in the second innings.
Earlier, Punjab had started the day at 140 for 2, with Usman Salahuddin going strong on 51. However, on the final day, Arshad Iqbal dismissed Mohammad Saad early while Salahuddin fell to Irfanullah as Central Punjab slid to 179 for 5. Qasim Akram, the batting all-rounder, scored a patient 30 off 70 balls before he was dismissed by Sajid. Irfanullah and Arshad then picked up the next two wickets to fall to leave Punjab reeling.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ghulam composed a fine 108 to help the side set a sizeable target.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 300 (Kamran Ghulam 76, Adil Amin 75; Hasan Ali 4-62, Waqas Maqsood 3-59) and 312 (Kamran Ghulam 108, Israrullah 63; Waqas Maqsood 4-77, Bilawal Iqbal 2-57) tied with Central Punjab 257-9 decl. (Qasim Akram 60*, Usman Salahuddin 60; Irfanullah Shah 4- 73, Khalid Usman 3-32) and 355 (Hasan Ali 106*; Sajid Khan 4-86)
