The eighth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26 concluded on Wednesday, day three, as Lahore Whites beat Bahawalpur, while Peshawar bagged a crucial 189-run victory over Multan to end up tied with Faisalabad on 132 points, below the top two Sialkot (149) and Karachi Blues (138).
The results in the penultimate round have turned the last-round fixtures enticing, with table toppers Sialkot and Karachi Blues taking on each other at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, while Faisalabad will take on no.8 Bahawalpur at Marghzar Cricket Ground on Sunday, 23 November.
Peshawar are set to face Islamabad at the Diamond Cricket ground with all top four teams direly looking for outright wins to qualify for the five-day Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final starting November 29 at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
On Wednesday, Peshawar dismissed Multan for a mere 92 in 39.4 overs – who fell 189 runs short of the 282-run target – as skipper Sajid Khan picked up his 22nd first-class five-wicket haul (15.4-0-39-6) and third in the tournament.
Sajid also completed his second consecutive match haul of 10 wickets (5-82 & 5-60 v Lahore Whites and 4-29 and 6-39 v Multan) in the tournament and sixth in his first-class career.
Starting the day with 2-1 in three overs and requiring 280 more runs to win with nine wickets in hand, Multan crumbled after being 53-2 at one point as they were bundled out for 92 with only Test batter Imran Butt occupying the crease during his 111-ball 39, hitting four fours. Sajid was aided by Mohammad Irfan, who took 3-10 in seven overs.
No.9 placed Multan will now take on No.10 Abbottabad at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium in the last round as both teams look to avoid relegation.
At the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Lahore Whites reached the 136-run target in 43.3 overs after resuming from an overnight score of 58-4 in 21 overs.
Player of the match Hussain Talat – who turned up in the eighth round fresh from hitting the winning runs for Pakistan in their third ODI against Sri Lanka – remained unbeaten on 49 off 90 balls, hitting three fours and one six to back up his first innings score of 58 off 79 balls, inclusive of eight fours – the only half-century in the match.
Following a 50-run fifth-wicket stand with Tayyab Tahir (32, 58b, 3x4s), Hussain stitched an unbeaten 47-run partnership with Qasim Akram (17 not out, 37b, 1×4) to take their team home, which is now placed sixth on the table with two wins out of their eight games and will face no.5 placed Fata at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar in the last round.