- The eighth and penultimate round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy will begin on 17 November
- Day four highlights of Faisalabad v Islamabad are available here
Lahore, 14 November 2025: The seventh round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26 concluded with a crucial 193-run victory for Karachi Blues against Abbottabad, which catapulted them from fourth to the second spot on the table beside toppers Sialkot on Friday.
Elsewhere, Faisalabad and Islamabad played out a thrilling draw at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Three games of this round were decided on Thursday. The eighth round of the tournament will begin on Monday across the same five venues in four cities.
Abbottabad eventually fell 193 runs against Karachi Blues after resuming day four from 147-4 requiring 372 more runs at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi.
Blues’ left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti returned figures of 39-13-98-6 – his 26th first-class five-wicket haul. Abbottabad’s no.6 Ahmed Khan (88, 174b, 7x4s, 4x6s) and no.9 batter Shahab Khan (56, 59b, 10x4s, 1x6) resisted with contrasting half-centuries but in vain.
At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Faisalabad and Islamabad were left wanting as the former needed two wickets, while the latter 20 runs to win when the bad light played spoilsport in dying moments of day four as the contest ended in stalemate.
Islamabad were 429-8 in 114 overs in the end having faced 75.2 overs on the last day after having resumed from overnight score of 159-1. Following day three centurion Shamyl Hussain’s (131, 158b, 21x4s, 2x6s) early departure, Islamabad slipped to 199-4 before skipper Rohail Nazir chipped in with 65 off 110 balls hitting 10 fours.
Faisalabad then made inroads with the wickets of Rohail, Sarmad Bhatti and Jawad Ali reducing Islamabad to 299-7 and were in sight of a victory, when no.7 batter Arsal Sheikh and no.9 Hunain Shah joined forces to stall their advance with a century partnership.
Arsal remained unbeaten for 62 off 110 balls hitting nine fours, while Hunain brought up his third first-class half-century with seven fours and one six scoring 66 off 67 balls to put his team in line for a memorable chase. The duo put on 111 runs for the eighth wicket, which was broken by Ahmed Safi Abdullah with scorecard reading 410-8.
For Faisalabad, Afaq Afridi picked up three wickets, while Khurram Shahzad dismissed two batters. Evading triumph and defeat both closely in the seventh round, Faisalabad ended up joint-third on points table with Peshawar with 109 points each, below toppers Sialkot (126) and second-placed Karachi Blues (110).
Scores in brief – End of Seventh round
Match Drawn - Faisalabad v Islamabad at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad
Target for Islamabad: 449
Faisalabad 386 all out, 95.4 overs (Muhammad Awais Zafar 148, Faham-ul-Haq 109, Jahandad Khan 40, Asim Ali Nasir 27; Hunain Shah 5-84, Musa Khan 2-59, Jawad Ali 2-115) and 221-2, 33.3 overs (Hasan Raza 106 not out, Muhammad Awais Zafar 52 not out, Asim Ali Nasir 42)
Islamabad 159 all out, 52.1 overs (Sarmad Bhatti 57, Abdul Faseeh 20; Khurram Shahzad 5-53, Jahandad Khan 3-27, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 2-43) and 429-8, 114 overs (Shamyl Hussain 131, Hunain Shah 66, Rohail Nazir 65, Arsal Sheikh 62 not out, Abdul Faseeh 57; Afaq Afridi 3-96, Khurram Shahzad 2-106)
Player of the match – Muhammad Awais Zafar (Faisalabad)
Karachi Blues beat Abbottabad by 193 runs at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
Target for Abbottabad: 519
Karachi Blues 258 all out, 80 overs (Danish Aziz 89 not out, Shan Masood 43, Saud Shakeel 31, Rameez Aziz 23, Saad Baig 21; Khalid Usman 3-83, Kamran Ghulam 2-12, Shabab Khan 2-40, Mehrooz Rasheed 2-57) and 451-5, 82 overs (Shan Masood 250 not out, Rameez Aziz 78, Saud Shakeel 33, Usman Khan 27, Danish Aziz 24 not out; Mehroz Rasheed 2-144)
Abbottabad 191 all out, 59.1 overs (Khayam Khan 59, Shahzaib Khan 37, Mohammad Suleman 26; Saqib Khan 7-34, Kashif Bhatti 2-60) and 325 all out, 92.5 overs (Ahmed Khan 88, Shahab Khan 56, Kamran Ghulam 48, Zain Ishaq 37, Umair Badshah 34, Khalid Usman 27; Kashif Bhatti 6-98, Saqib Khan 2-82)
Player of the match – Saqib Khan (Karachi Blues)
On Thursday:
Sialkot beat Multan by 204 runs at Marghzar Cricket Ground, Islamabad
Target for Multan: 391
Player of the match – Mehran Mumtaz (Sialkot)
FATA beat Bahawalpur by an innings and 86 runs at Imran Khan Cricket Stadium, Peshawar
Player of the match – Khushdil Shah (FATA)
Peshawar beat Lahore Whites by 85 runs at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad
Target for Lahore Whites: 253
Player of the match – Sajid Khan (Peshawar)
