All-round Jamal hands Markhor IT Solutions maiden first-class title
Markhor IT won by 51 runs
Player Of The Match
, MITS
7/32, 55 & 1/39
Markhor IT Solutions won their maiden President's Trophy Grade-I title • PCB
Markhor IT Solutions 112 (Sirajuddin 6-39, Aziz 4-39) and 296 (Tariq 85, Abbas 5-70) beat State Bank of Pakistan 172 (Raza 36, Jamal 7-32) and 185 (Raza 73, Usman 4-38) by 51 runs
Less than a week after Aamer Jamal was ignored for the Test series against Sri Lanka, the allrounder delivered a Player-of-the-Match performance in the final of the President's Trophy to help Markhor IT Solutions (MITS) secure their maiden first-class title with a 51-run win over State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) at the Bagh-e-Jinnah ground in Lahore.
Jamal ripped apart SBP's batting line-up with a seven-wicket haul in the first innings and struck a crucial half-century lower down the order in the second, which set SBP a 237-run target in a low-scoring contest. MITS sealed the contest on the fourth morning of the five-day affair.
That bowlers would dictate this contest was clear when MITS were skittled for a paltry 112 in 29.5 overs, with fast bowlers Sirajuddin and Shahid Aziz sharing all ten wickets between them. Hailing from Bajaur Agency, the 24-year-old right-arm quick Sirajuddin recorded his maiden five-wicket haul as he picked up six for 39 from nine overs, while Aziz bagged the other four wickets in 7.5 overs also for 39 runs.
SBP managed only 172 in reply as Jamal - the only Test cricketer in MITS - tore through their lineup. The right-arm pacer returned 7 for 32 in 14 overs.
A 41-run stand for the second wicket between Hasan Raza (36) and Faham-ul-Haq (17) seemed to be laying a platform for a bigger total, but SBP lost three quick wickets for no runs as Jamal snared Faham and Kamran Ghulam (0) in consecutive overs, with Salman Aslam castling Raza in between the two overs. Ali Shan (27) and SBP captain Rameez Aziz (14) shared a 36-run stand, but any prospect of a solid recovery was put to rest as Jamal continued to make inroads, taking four wickets in three overs at one stage.
All 20 wickets across the first two innings were picked up by fast bowlers and all three half-centuries of the match came in the second innings.
MITS were more composed and measured in their second innings with their batters buying time in the middle. They were effectively three down for one run after overhauling the 60-run trail, after which Abuzar Tariq scored a spirited half-century, finishing with a 148-ball 85. Jamal added important runs from No. 7 during his fifth half-century in first-class cricket as he made 55 off 81. The two half-centuries propelled MITS to 296.
Atizaz Habib Khan, who had top-scored for MITS in the first innings with 29 off 30, had to be substituted in the second with Ali Asfand because of concussion, which also saw Test fast bowler Mohammad Abbas record his 60th five-wicket haul with five for 70 in 18 overs.
As was the case in the first innings, SBP started the chase strongly and seemed on course to chase the target. But a middle-order collapse saw them slide to 147 for 7 from 119 for 2.
MITS were only three wickets away from the title when play resumed on the fourth morning and wrapped up the contest inside the first session with their captain Usman bagging the last wicket, which was his fourth of the innings.
The win at Bagh-e-Jinnah, which was hosting its first first-class match after 21 years, capped a magnificent year for MITS. This was their first appearance in a first-class competition, made possible after they beat Kingsmen in the final of the Grade II Gold Tournament by virtue of the first-innings lead, which earned them promotion.
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