Quaid Trophy: Penultimate round starts today

Karachi, Jan 21: The penultimate round of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship begins from tomorrow (Saturday) with 10 four-day matches at various centres.

Four of the ties are scheduled here in the city including three Pool 'A' matches. The most crucial encounter involves current leaders Lahore City Whites against Karachi Whites at the Defence Stadium. Originally, this match was to be played at the National Stadium but owing to renovation work at the Test venue, the PCB decided to make alternative arrangements.

The other three matches here are National Bank, currently third, versus Bahawalpur at the NBP Sports Complex, PNSC versus WAPDA at the Asghar Ali Shah Stadium and the Pool 'B' clash between Karachi Blues and Sargodha at the UBL Sports Complex.

In the remaining Pool 'A' matches, second-placed PIA face Lahore Division at the Sheikhupura Stadium while Pakistan Customs meet Gujranwala at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot.

Habib Bank will definitely reach the final of the prestigious national championship from Pool 'B' if they succeed in securing an outright victory over a struggling Peshawar side at the Shahi Bagh Stadium in Peshawar. The bankers, with two matches in hand, are only three points adrift of leaders Pakistan Reserves who have already completed their league fixtures.

In the other Pool 'B' matches, Islamabad take on Allied Bank at the CRA Ground in Islamabad, ADBP clash with Redco at the Margalla Ground, also in Islamabad, and the winless Rawalpindi meet Faisalabad at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.

Points table

Following is the position of teams at the end of the ninth round (tabulated under):

Teams Matches Played Won Lost Drawn Points

Lahore City Whites 8 5 2 1 60 PIA 8 4 0 4 57 National Bank 8 3 0 5 45 Pakistan Customs 8 3 1 4 42 WAPDA 8 3 2 3 42 Lahore Division 8 2 1 5 33 Bahawalpur 8 2 4 2 27 PNSC 8 1 1 6 18 Karachi Whites 8 1 2 5 18 Gujranwala 9 1 3 5 12 Hyderabad 9 0 9 0 0

Pakistan Reserves 11 7 2 2 81 Habib Bank 9 6 0 3 78 Allied Bank 9 3 0 6 51 Redco 9 3 1 5 42 KRL 10 3 2 5 42 ADBP 9 2 2 5 33 Peshawar 9 2 2 5 24 Karachi Blues 9 2 4 3 21 Islamabad 9 1 1 7 18 Faisalabad 9 1 7 1 15 Sargodha 9 0 4 5 9 Rawalpindi 10 0 4 6 3