LAHORE: Wildcard Karachi and last season’s finalist Peshawar will enter the third round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on Saturday following victories of contrasting styles in their second-round matches. Karachi defeated Multan by an innings, while Peshawar had to bring out their best to edge past FATA by 17 runs.

In the third-round fixtures, Karachi will face FATA at Peshawar’s Imran Khan Cricket Stadium, while Peshawar will take on third-placed Bahawalpur at the batting-friendly Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium. Abbottabad meet Islamabad at the Marghzar Cricket Stadium, Lahore will challenge defending champions Sialkot at the Diamond Ground, and Multan will lock horns with neighbours Faisalabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.

Karachi’s emphatic win over Multan made headlines nationwide — not for any record-breaking feats, but for the significance of the contest itself, which featured two sides that had failed to qualify through the Hanif Mohammad Trophy.

Logically, sides that miss qualification should sit out, as current form and performances, not past glory, must dictate selection. The once-mighty West Indies serve as a reminder, having missed the 2023 Cricket World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy despite their storied history.

However, when social media erupted over Pakistan’s premier first-class competition proceeding without 20-time champions Karachi, the organisers buckled under pressure. They not only reinstated Karachi but also included Multan — a decision that appeared hasty and inconsistent, exposing administrative weakness and diluting the integrity of both the selection process and the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy brand.

Karachi’s inclusion shifted the responsibility squarely on the players to justify their presence. And they have not done too bad at this stage – collecting first-innings lead points against Faisalabad in a rain-affected opener and then reinforcing their credentials with maximum points from the victory over Multan.

Key Performers:

Karachi’s two performances to date have been dominated by batter Mirza Saad Baig, who has scored 253 runs with a century and a half-century, and fast bowler Saqib Khan, who has taken the bowling honours with five wickets, including a five-for.

Four other Karachi batters have crossed 100 runs after two matches: Omair Bin Yousuf (193), Danish Aziz (155), Saim Ayub (164), and Haroon Arshad (129) — a significant positive for a side aiming to justify its wildcard entry.

On the bowling front, apart from Saqib, Rameez Aziz has five wickets, Mushtaq Ahmed four, and Mir Hamza, Mohammad Asghar, and Muhammad Umar three each. While wickets have been shared fairly evenly, a couple of dominant individual performances will further enhance the team’s prospects.

Leading Performers Across Teams:

After two rounds, Islamabad’s young left-handed opener Shamyl Hussain leads the run chart with 264, followed by Bahawalpur’s Saad Khan (258), Karachi’s Saad Baig, Abbottabad’s Fakhar Zaman (233), Faisalabad’s Atiq ur Rehman (224), and Lahore’s Ali Zaryab (213).

FATA’s Zahid Mehmood has been the most successful bowler with 13 wickets. He is followed by Lahore’s Mohammad Rameez Jr (11), Karachi’s Saqib Khan and Ahmed Safi Abdullah (8 each), and Peshawar’s Mohammad Amir Khan (7).

To date, 19 centuries have been scored in the tournament, with Saad Khan’s 215 and Ali Zaryab’s 199 standing out as the two most outstanding innings. On the bowling front, five or more wickets have been claimed 11 times, with Zahid Mehmood achieving the feat twice.

Pitch and Conditions:

With Abbottabad, Islamabad, and Multan still enjoying relatively warm weather, surfaces are expected to favour batters unless exceptional bowling performances intervene. Conditions are likely to turn seamer-friendly after the fifth round on 30 October, when shorter winter days begin.

In this context, batters and spinners will aim to maximise performances while conditions remain favourable, before seamers start to dominate the second half of the tournament.

Points Table and Outlook:

Karachi and Peshawar currently occupy the top two positions on the points table with 38 and 29 points, respectively. However, a lot of cricket remains. Determining the finalists will hinge not on how teams start, but on how well they adapt and perform as conditions change — presenting a challenge for top professionals seeking to impress selectors for international cricket.

Third Round Fixtures (18-21 OCTOBER):

Abbottabad v Islamabad, Marghzar Cricket Stadium

Karachi v FATA, Imran Khan Cricket Stadium

Lahore v Sialkot, Diamond Cricket Ground

Multan v Faisalabad, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium

Bahawalpur v Peshawar, Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium

Points Table (after round two of nine):

Teams	Mat	Won	Lost	Draw	Points
Karachi	2	1	0	1	38
Peshawar	2	1	0	1	29
Bahawalpur	2	0	0	2	23
Lahore	2	0	0	2	23
Islamabad	2	0	0	2	19
Multan	2	0	1	1	18
Abbottabad	2	0	0	2	17
FATA	2	0	1	1	17
Faisalabad	2	0	0	2	17
Sialkot	2	0	0	2	17