FAISALABAD: Shadab Khan-led Panthers will square off against Iftikhar Ahmed’s Markhors in the final of the inaugural edition of the Champions One-Day Cup, scheduled at Iqbal Stadium on Sunday.
The final, set to begin at 3pm will be the third occasion in this tournament where these two teams will face each other with both having won one game each previously.
In the tournament opener on 12 September, the Markhors got the better of Panthers with a 160-run win while the Panthers defeated Markhors in the qualifier by seven wickets to reach the final.
Markhors on the other hand advanced to the final based on their top standing in the league stage after their eliminator clash against the Nurpur Lions was called off without a ball being bowled.
In total the Panthers have so far played five matches in the tournament winning four and losing just one while the Markhors have played six games reaping three wins, two losses while their last game was a washout.
Markhors and Panthers have both seen changes in their squads after Pakistan’s Test squad for the first Test against England was announced. In the Markhors squad, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah and Salman Ali Agha have been replaced by Bismillah Khan, Niaz Khan and Zain Abbas.
Danish Aziz and Sajid Khan have replaced Mubasir Khan and Saim Ayub in the Panthers squad. While Saim was named in the Test squad, the all-rounder Mubasir was ruled out due to a thumb fracture.
Panthers’ Usman Khan leads the runs scoring charts in the tournament with 259 runs at an average of 64.75 in five matches with one hundred. Stallions’ Tayyab Tahir sits on the second spot with 249 runs at 49.80 while Kamran Ghulam of Markhors has scored 248 runs in the five matches at 49.60 including two hundreds.
Usman and Kamran will look to finish as the top run-scorers of the tournament.
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On the bowling front, Panthers’ Mohammad Hasnain is the leading wicket-taker with 14 wickets followed by Stallions’ Jahandad Khan, Lions’ and Markhors’ Zahid Mahmood who have 10 each to their names.
Markhors’ captain Iftikhar Ahmed is upbeat about the chance to become the inaugural edition of the tournament and also to instil his experience to the youngsters in the squad.
“The Bahria Town Champions One-Day Cup has been a fantastic tournament and to stake a claim for becoming the inaugural champions of this domestic competition is an exciting prospect for the UMT Markhors.
“I will look to instil my experience of playing for Pakistan in high-pressure games to the young players in our squad. The fans will surely get to see a highly-competitive final tomorrow.
“We are hopeful to repeat the opening game heroics against the Lake City Panthers. Despite the departure of Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah and Salman Ali Agha, the Markhors team is committed to giving the best performance in the final and lifting the trophy.”
Shadab Khan, on the other hand, shared his excitement to lead the Panthers in the Champions Cup final before asserting that the team is steadfast, having been able to rest for four days after the Qualifier.
“I’m really excited to be leading the Lake City Panthers in the final of the Bahria Town Champions One-Day Cup and I’m pretty sure this occasion will bring the best out of our players.
“After our win in the Qualifier, we had four off days where we took ample rest and trained for the final as well which has set up the Panthers squad in the best stead possible to compete in a high-profile game.
“We will miss Saim Ayub’s presence with the ball and bat but so many of the other players are ready to put their hand up and give their best. The final is going to be a cracking contest and I hope the fans turn up in big numbers as they have done throughout the tournament.”
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