State Bank champions after last-over thriller

State Bank of Pakistan 283 for 8 (Ahmed 60, Yasin 42, Asghar 3-41) beat National Bank of Pakistan (Nawaz 93, Abbas 46, Haider 2-60) by two wickets
Scorecard

A collective batting effort helped State Bank of Pakistan edge National Bank of Pakistan with one ball to spare in the President's Gold Cup final. Kashif Bhatti, the No.9, struck two fours in the final over to seal the title after the chase was set up by Mukhtar Ahmed's 60 off 76 balls. Naved Yasin gave him good support, scoring 42 in a 100-run partnership for the fourth wicket.

The dismissal of Yasin though triggered a mini-slide as State Bank lost three wickets in as many overs. At that stage, the equation read 62 off 49 balls, with four wickets in hand. Usman Salahuddin and Aamer Yamin's cameos - 20 off 20 and 33 off 23 - to put State Bank back on track, before Bhatti finished the chase.

Mohammad Asghar was the pick of the bowlers for State Bank claiming figures of 3 for 41. Attaullah, who bowled the final over, had conceded an economy rate of 8.92 despite collecting a couple of wickets.

Asked to bat, National Bank were lifted to 279 from a precarious 132 for 5 thanks to a late blitz from Mohammad Nawaz. Coming in at No. 6, he struck 93 off 67 balls to offset a middle-order wobble as Nasir Jamshed and Kamran Akmal perished in the space of seven deliveries. However, Qaiser Abbas stepped up with an unbeaten 46 during a sixth-wicket partnership of 139 with Nawaz.

Rizwan Haiden took two wickets, while Mohammad Naved, Aamer Yamin and Kashif picked up a wicket each. Nawaz's rapid fifty and figures of 8-0-38-0 fetched him the Match of the Match award, but it was not enough to win the final.