LAHORE: To make the premier Quaid-e-Azam Trophy more interesting and exciting, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has decided to stage two four-day matches with the pink ball under floodlights.
The fourth round fixture between Discover Pakistan Central Punjab and GFS Sindh, which was earlier scheduled at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad from November 10 to 13, will now be played under the Gaddafi Stadium floodlights on the same dates, while the final match at the National Stadium in Karachi will also be played with the pink ball from December 25 to 29.
The rescheduling of the fourth round fixture from November 10-13 now means Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be played at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, whereas the Northern versus ATF Southern Punjab will proceed as originally planned at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
The first session of the pink ball matches will be played from 1300-1500, the second session will run from 1520-1720, while the final session will be held from 1800-2000.
In the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fourth round fixtures from November 10-13, Balochistan will face Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad; Discover Pakistan Central Punjab will clash against GFS Sindh at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore; while Northern will face ATF Southern Punjab at Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan.
Moreover, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Khalid Usman and Sajid Khan have been fined 85-per cent and 20-per cent of their match fees for a level 1 offence for showing dissent at an umpire's decision during the third round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 match against Southern Punjab at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
Khalid and Sajid in two separate incidents delayed their departures from the crease after being given out and, as such, were found to have violated Article 2.8 of the PCB Code of Conduct for Players and Player Support Personnel, which reads as: "Showing dissent at an Umpire's decision during a Match." This was Khalid's second breach in the ongoing season and therefore was fined 85 per cent of his match fees.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021