LAHORE: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Under-19 Blues will face Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Under-19 Whites in the National Under-19 Cricket Cup final at the Pindi Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi on Sunday (today).
Both teams topped their Pools in the 12-team tournament. The winning team will receive Rs1 million while the runner-up will bag Rs0.5 million. The players will have the incentive to bring out their best performances as the tournament's top performers - best player, best batter, best bowler and best wicketkeeper - will receive Rs50,000 each. The player of the final will be awarded Rs20,000.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U-19 Whites topped Pool A with four wins from five outings in the tournament. Central Punjab U-19 Whites also finished with eight points in the group, but on better net run-rate Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U-19 Whites qualified for the final. In Pool B, three teams Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U-19 Blues, Sindh U-19 Blues and Central Punjab U-19 Blues finished with eight points each from five matches, but again on better net run-rate, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U-19 Blues qualified for the final.
The 18-year old Afaq of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U-19 Whites has featured in five matches scoring 273 at 54.60. The left-handed batter has scored one century and one half-century in the tournament and currently is second on the list behind Central Punjab U19 Whites' batter Azan Awais who has scored 313 runs from five matches.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U-19 Blues - Maaz Sadaqat is a good all-round player available to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa U-19 Blues. The 17-year old left-handed batter has scored 245 runs from five matches at 49, with one century and one half-century. He with his left-arm spin has taken eight wickets from five matches at 8. His best figure in the match was four for 25.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021