Lahore Blues beat Rawalpindi by seven wickets in the final to lift the National U19 Cup at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Thursday.
Naqeebullah and Ibtisam Azhar bagged three wickets each to restrict Rawalpindi to 142. Off-spinner Ibtisam Azhar finished the tournament with 20 wickets from eight matches.
Winning the toss and electing to bat first, Rawalpindi managed 142 in 44.1 overs, with Ali Mehdi top-scoring with 36.
For Lahore Blues, left-arm spinner Naqeebullah and right-arm off-spinner Ibtisam took three wickets apiece for 16 and 25 runs, respectively.
In reply, Lahore Blues lost three wickets in their chase and achieved the target in 39.4 overs. Jahangir Bilal top-scored for the winning side with an unbeaten 56 off 97 balls, hitting seven fours.
Ali Hassan Baloch:
Match committee named Lahore Blues’ captain, Ali Hassan Baloch, who missed out on a big score in the final, player of the tournament. Baloch scored 603 runs in eight matches at an average of 75.38, including three centuries and two half-centuries.
Faisalabad’s Momin Qamar was declared bowler of the tournament for his 22 wickets in eight matches. The left-arm spinner had two five-wicket hauls to his name.
Scores in brief:
Lahore Blues beat Rawalpindi by seven wickets at Multan Cricket Stadium
Rawalpindi 142 all out, 44.1 overs (Ali Mehdi 36; Naqeebullah 3-16, Ibtisam Azhar 3-25)
Lahore Blues 143-3, 39.4 overs (Jahangir Bilal 56 not out, Khizer Butt 46)
Player of the match – Naqeebullah (Lahore Blues)
Player of the Tournament – Ali Hassan Baloch (Lahore Blues)
Meanwhile, Karachi Blues beat Multan by seven wickets on the third day of the second round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26 on Tuesday.
“Chasing a 100-run target for victory, Karachi crossed the finish line in 16.3 overs with player of the match Saad Baig backing up his first innings century with an unbeaten 65. Earlier, Karachi Blues’ Saqib Khan bagged six wickets to bundle out Multan for 272 in their second innings. Sharoon Siraj was the top scorer with 96 off 148 balls, followed by Waqar Hussain, who made 52 off 86 balls.”
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