- Haroon Arshad and Abdullah took Karachi ahead of Sialkot with a 149-run stand; Saad Baig completed 1000-run milestone in Quaid Trophy
- Day three highlights are available here; Scorecard is available here; Action images are available here for free download and editorial use
Lahore, 3 December 2025: Abdullah Fazal struck a magnificent century to help Karachi Blues finish day three with a 276-run second innings lead in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26 final here at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Wednesday.
At close, Karachi Blues were 202-1 in 64 overs with Abdullah unbeaten on 104 (200b, 11x4s) and Haroon Arshad 55 not out (55 not out, 145b) on the crease after Sialkot were dismissed for 266 earlier in the day, after resuming from overnight score of 235-6.
Abdullah and Haroon came together with Blues 53-1 in 11.4 overs before keeping Sialkot bowlers wicketless for the next 314 balls, stitching a unbeaten 149-run stand.
Left-handed opening batter Abdullah, who backed up his first innings 88, brought up his half-century off 91 balls before converting it into his second first-class ton off 193 balls late in the day. Haroon brought up his maiden first-class half-century off 128 balls after starting the tournament with a century on debut.
Earlier, Karachi Blues took 65 balls at the start of day three to wrap up Sialkot’s first innings taking 4-31 as they bowled out defending champions for 266 in 71.5 overs, taking a 74-run first innings lead. Blues’ pacers Saqib Khan and Muhammad Umar returned identical figures of 4-79 in the 23.5 and 24 overs that they sent down, respectively.
Hamza Nazar (64, 126b, 8x4s) was the first to fall nicking to Haroon Arshad at gully off Umar in 65th over, putting an end to the 75-run seventh-wicket stand, which crucially took Sialkot from 170-6 to 245-7.
Hasan Ali’s 43-ball 41 comprising three fours and two sixes too came to an end in the subsequent over with Saad taking his 24th catch behind the stumps in the tournament. Usama and Hasnain both gave in without much resistance as both were caught at mid-on and short mid-wicket, respectively, trying to hit big shots.
In turn, Karachi Blues went to lunch with 55-1 in 14 overs as Saad Baig departed two overs before the interval scoring 31 off 39 balls hitting four fours. He also became the first the batter to notch the 1,000-run mark in the prestigious first-class tournament since Mohammad Hurraira in 2022-23 season.
Hasnain induced a sharp outside edge off Saad’s bat, which ricocheted off Abdullah Shafique’s fingers at second slip to end up in Usama Mir’s hands at first slip as Sialkot broke the 53-run opening stand between Saad and Abdullah.
Scores in brief – Day 3 – Stumps
Final – Sialkot v Karachi Blues at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Karachi Blues lead by 276 runs in second innings with nine wickets remaining
Karachi Blues 340 all out, 81.2 overs (Abdullah Fazal 88, Usman Khan 82, Saad Baig 39, Saqib Khan 33, Rameez Aziz 22; Mohammad Ali 4-79, Mohammad Hasnain 2-70, Hasan Ali 2-75) and 202-1, 64 overs (Abdullah Fazal 104 not out, Haroon Arshad 55 not out, Saad Baig 31)
Sialkot 266 all out, 71.5 overs (Mohsin Riaz 71, Hamza Nazar 64, Hasan Ali 41, Abdullah Shafique 32; Saqib Khan 4-79, Muhammad Umar 4-79)
