239/10 (37.3)
CR : 6.37
340/10 (50.0)
CR : 6.80
Pakistan Gold won by 101 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Shaheen Afridi
7/363(2)
Best Bowler of the Tourmanent: Shaheen Shah Afridi
Player of the Tournament: Fakhar Zaman
Fakhar Zaman (Player of the Tournament): "Would have been nice had we won the tournament, but today was Shaheen's team's day. Particularly with the way they started. Shaheen turned up today the way we know him. All the credit goes to them.
(On his form throughout the tournament) The niggles I had, I worked on them for three months. Of course, once you're fully fit, a lot of things become easier for you, and your entire focus gets better. I tried to play with my entire focus on the game, at the end of the day, if you're focused, you score runs. Happy to score runs in the tournament consistently.
(On Multan's crowd) Many, many thanks to the crowd who turned up. All of you enjoyed, and we enjoyed your presence. Keep maintaining your love for cricket like this, because there are a lot of players from Multan who play at a high level. Lots of players here as well, and looking at the crowd, it was evident as to how much they love their cricket."
(On his form throughout the tournament) The niggles I had, I worked on them for three months. Of course, once you're fully fit, a lot of things become easier for you, and your entire focus gets better. I tried to play with my entire focus on the game, at the end of the day, if you're focused, you score runs. Happy to score runs in the tournament consistently.
(On Multan's crowd) Many, many thanks to the crowd who turned up. All of you enjoyed, and we enjoyed your presence. Keep maintaining your love for cricket like this, because there are a lot of players from Multan who play at a high level. Lots of players here as well, and looking at the crowd, it was evident as to how much they love their cricket."
Shadab Khan collects the runners-up trophy now.
Shadab Khan (Pakistan Greens Captain): "(Where did you miss out today?) I think throughout the tournament we did better in a few areas and we lacked there today. We showed some character in fielding throughout but today, we made a few lapses there.
(Sometimes your opponent also plays very well) I think it is a mixture of both. They played well, the spell of Shaheen was a game changing spell. Credit goes to the youngsters for playing so well for us.
(You used nine bowlers. Why not Omair Yousuf?) We lost the toss, otherwise would have bowled him too.
(How would you sum up this tournament?) If you talk about youngsters, I have to talk about Sameer, Saad Baig, Omair Yousuf, Mehran Mumtaz- they all have some serious potential and they will work on the things they learnt from here. At the end of the day, the goal is to get more players for Pakistan who will help us to win.
(Do you think the cricket was competitive enough?) Obviously. I think the thinking of the tournament was to bridge those missing links for the national team. I hope they have got the thing they wanted. It was too hot but the players showed some mental toughness.
(A few words for the Multan crowd) Multan has been brilliant. The crowd came to support us despite the heat. They supported us throughout. I am thankful to them. Curators had a tough job to prepare pitches for the games but they did well. I think everything was good."
(Sometimes your opponent also plays very well) I think it is a mixture of both. They played well, the spell of Shaheen was a game changing spell. Credit goes to the youngsters for playing so well for us.
(You used nine bowlers. Why not Omair Yousuf?) We lost the toss, otherwise would have bowled him too.
(How would you sum up this tournament?) If you talk about youngsters, I have to talk about Sameer, Saad Baig, Omair Yousuf, Mehran Mumtaz- they all have some serious potential and they will work on the things they learnt from here. At the end of the day, the goal is to get more players for Pakistan who will help us to win.
(Do you think the cricket was competitive enough?) Obviously. I think the thinking of the tournament was to bridge those missing links for the national team. I hope they have got the thing they wanted. It was too hot but the players showed some mental toughness.
(A few words for the Multan crowd) Multan has been brilliant. The crowd came to support us despite the heat. They supported us throughout. I am thankful to them. Curators had a tough job to prepare pitches for the games but they did well. I think everything was good."
Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan Gold captain): "(How proud are you of being champions?) Feels really nice, to be honest. Not just for myself, for the players who have worked hard for it. From the mood in the camp after the two losses, and then the comeback, credit goes to them completely for that. There were a lot of boys having their first experience of List A cricket, credit to them - it's not easy to field in this heat for 50 overs, and there was no gap between matches. The boys put a lot of effort in.
(On the moment that changed the course of the team's fortunes) Misbah bhai (coach) motivated the players whenever we had a meeting - that there is only one opportunity, try your best, work hard, don't forgo your skills. All the boys worked on it, thought about it, and grabbed the opportunity.
(On the players who have made a mark) To be honest I liked a lot of the players. I had a word with Mike (Hesson) as well about the players that were making a mark, bowling at full tilt. Some of the guys batted well. A couple of the keepers did well too. These are the boys who can represent Pakistan.
(On the crowd at Multan) Thank you to the Multan crowd, they've been supportive in the PSL as well, and they have been in attendance for the national team's matches as well. Supported the team to the fullest."
(On the moment that changed the course of the team's fortunes) Misbah bhai (coach) motivated the players whenever we had a meeting - that there is only one opportunity, try your best, work hard, don't forgo your skills. All the boys worked on it, thought about it, and grabbed the opportunity.
(On the players who have made a mark) To be honest I liked a lot of the players. I had a word with Mike (Hesson) as well about the players that were making a mark, bowling at full tilt. Some of the guys batted well. A couple of the keepers did well too. These are the boys who can represent Pakistan.
(On the crowd at Multan) Thank you to the Multan crowd, they've been supportive in the PSL as well, and they have been in attendance for the national team's matches as well. Supported the team to the fullest."
Shaheen Afridi is now handed the trophy, he poses with the dignitaries for the photos, and he proceeds to hand the trophy to his team, who celebrate and pose for photos in behind the 'champions' hoarding.
11:40 PM IST, 11:10 PM Local Time: As Shaheen Afridi and his team celebrate with the trophy, we reach the conclusion of our coverage of the 2026 National Champions Cup. Eight days of cricket in the scorching heat of Multan have brought out a whole lot of cricketing information, which will be integral to Pakistan's preparation going into the 2027 Men's Cricket World Cup. We saw numerous examples of batting talents failing to convert starts into something big. While Mohammad Suleman took his opportunity and scored a hundred in the 5th game, Shamyl Hussain and Saad Khan have delivered the goods in the final, scoring match-winning hundreds for their team. The Pakistan cricket faithful must have been pleased to see their fast bowling contingent show up in a big way over the course of the tournament - Naseem Shah, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Hasnain, and particularly Shaheen Afridi among the seniors have bowled themselves into form, making good use of the Multan deck under lights, while youngsters such as Razaullah and Abdul Subhan have impressed too. Their left-arm wrist-spin stocks also see a rise - Faisal Akram joins Sufiyan Muqeem with shades of promise.
Overall, it was a successful tournament, and the Pakistan Cricket Board will be pleased with how it went. Pakistan Gold showed great character by coming back after two losses and claiming the prize. All four teams have had some positives to show, and the more headaches the selectors of the Pakistan cricket team have, the better. Speaking of which, the Pakistan Men's national cricket team will be in action tomorrow as their 3-match Test series against England kicks off at Headingley. Join us right here on Crickxo at 2:30 PM IST (10:00 AM Local Time) for our coverage of that, and keep following us for a whole lot more!
That's all for now. This is Rajarshi Das, signing off on behalf of my co-commentator, Saptak Sanyal, and scorer/analyst, Ghanendra Singh Thakur. Good night!