Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited lifted the inaugural President’s Trophy, beating Habib Bank Limited by 75 in Karachi. When HBL resumed the day at 169 for 6, they had to score another 160 to lay their hands on the title. SNGPL’s spinners took three of the last four wickets, led by Mohammad Hafeez who scalped two on the last day, taking just over 24 overs to wrap up the innings.
Chasing 329 was going to be a daunting task after HBL were dismissed for 137 in the first innings. Ahmed Shehzad was the only batsman to provide resistance with a half-century while the other ten players scored only 57 runs combined. Hafeez took four wickets in the first innings in less than 14 overs, giving away only 16 runs. That gave SNGPL a first-innings lead of 146 as they had scored 283 after they were put in to bat. Even though they were in trouble at 49 for 3, they were rescued by Azhar Ali (32) and half-centuries from Misbah-ul-Haq and Ali Waqas. When they came out to bat again, Umar Gul not only got rid of the openers, he dismissed their first-innings top scorers – Misbah and Waqas – for ducks. His six wickets, which included a hat-trick, kept SNGPL to 182 but the lead by then had already reached to 328.
