110/10 (23.5)
CR : 4.62
302/6 (50.0)
CR : 6.04
Pakistan Greens won by 192 runs 🏆
Player of the Match
Mohammad Suleman
101(103)*
The run chase began with a slice of bad luck for them as Maaz Sadaqat was run out while backing up. Sahibzada Farhan and Mohammad Faiq, both of whom have been among the runs in the competition so far, looked to play themselves in and saw off the first half of the powerplay safely. But soon after that, both batters fell playing false, ordinary shots to Faheem Ashraf, spooning catches to Farhan Yousaf at mid-wicket. Wickets continued to fall like ninepins as the powerplay ended, all of which were down to poor shot-making and decent execution from the Greens bowlers. The Blues managed to crawl past three figures eventually, thanks to a bit of resistance from Arafat Minhas.
9:49 PM IST, 9:19 PM Local Time: Two days, two one-sided games in a row in the 2026 National Champions Cup at Multan. The quality of batting has left a lot to be desired for most of the competition, but the performance from Pakistan Blues tonight was bad on a different level altogether. Their entire line-up fell making all sorts of bad choices in their shot-making. Having been given a challenging target to chase, not a single individual among the top five batters showed the right approach to build an innings.
10:10 PM IST and Local Time: Time for the post-match presentation
Player of the Match: Mohammad Suleman
Mohammad Suleman (Player of the Match): "(What were the plans?) Thanks to the almighty. The idea was to carry the innings forward in the middle.
(What was the process? What did you do differently?) I tried to take the game deep. I decided to not look at the scoreboard and wanted to enjoy the batting. Thanks to the almighty, it became a hundred.
(Confident after the century?) Whenever you score a hundred, you get the confidence. It feels good as my team won the game.
(Was it a pressure to replace Fakhar Zaman?) That was not in mind, but Fakhar bhai was saying that anybody who takes his place, scores a hundred."
(What was the process? What did you do differently?) I tried to take the game deep. I decided to not look at the scoreboard and wanted to enjoy the batting. Thanks to the almighty, it became a hundred.
(Confident after the century?) Whenever you score a hundred, you get the confidence. It feels good as my team won the game.
(Was it a pressure to replace Fakhar Zaman?) That was not in mind, but Fakhar bhai was saying that anybody who takes his place, scores a hundred."
Farhan Yousaf is awarded the Energetic Player of the Match award!
Sahibzada Farhan (Pakistan Blues captain): "(On the team collapsing after his dismissal) I think playing 3 matches in four days is really tough, no matter how fit you are and how much you motivate your team. It is really hard, we were in the mood for batting first today, but we had to bowl first. It was tough for the boys.
(On disappointment over the middle-order) Of course, there is disappointment; I was confident with the kind of young talent we have. This is part of the game, happens in cricket. The way we started, we couldn't finish it. Of course, we are disappointed.
(On tomorrow's match being integral to their chances of playing the final) It won't be as much fun even if we qualify that way. But let's see what happens.
(On message for the players failing to convert starts into big scores) They're young, will need time to understand this, but I think on these kind of wickets, if you're set and on 50 or more, you shouldn't get out. The message is the same to our boys - don't get out after crossing 50 or else you would lose out. Got to score hundreds on these kind of wickets."
(On disappointment over the middle-order) Of course, there is disappointment; I was confident with the kind of young talent we have. This is part of the game, happens in cricket. The way we started, we couldn't finish it. Of course, we are disappointed.
(On tomorrow's match being integral to their chances of playing the final) It won't be as much fun even if we qualify that way. But let's see what happens.
(On message for the players failing to convert starts into big scores) They're young, will need time to understand this, but I think on these kind of wickets, if you're set and on 50 or more, you shouldn't get out. The message is the same to our boys - don't get out after crossing 50 or else you would lose out. Got to score hundreds on these kind of wickets."
Shadab Khan (Pakistan Greens Captain): "(The team looks very sorted) Yes things are going well. I think it is all about attitude and character. When things go well, it looks good. When you do it consistently, you get the results.
(In Pakistan cricket, the missing link is the batters not converting their starts into big ones. What is your take on Suleman's knock?) Definitely it was a special one. A good innings in the middle overs, it was his first game in the big stage. We heard that he plays really well, and today we have seen that. Farhan Yousaf played well, youngsters are doing really well. They are playing with a good attitude.
(Anything you want to change ahead of the final?) Nothing seems like that. I hope Sameer plays his best knock in the final.
(Will Fakhar come in the final?) Yes, He looked fresh today. Let us see."
(In Pakistan cricket, the missing link is the batters not converting their starts into big ones. What is your take on Suleman's knock?) Definitely it was a special one. A good innings in the middle overs, it was his first game in the big stage. We heard that he plays really well, and today we have seen that. Farhan Yousaf played well, youngsters are doing really well. They are playing with a good attitude.
(Anything you want to change ahead of the final?) Nothing seems like that. I hope Sameer plays his best knock in the final.
(Will Fakhar come in the final?) Yes, He looked fresh today. Let us see."
10:25 PM IST, 9:55 PM Local Time: Pakistan Greens have been the best side in the competition by far, and have deservedly reached the final. They've ticked most of the boxes and have done better than the three other teams in performing the basics right. Pakistan Blues began the competition well, but there were issues with their middle-order from the first game itself, more so in the second game, and they unravelled completely tonight. Their hopes of playing the final rest on the outcome of tomorrow's game between Pakistan Whites and Pakistan Gold - the Whites, who find themselves at number two in the points table, just need to avoid defeat by a big margin to not concede that second spot to the Blues, or their opponents - Pakistan Gold. Join us right here on Crickxo at 2:30 PM IST (2:00 PM Local Time) tomorrow for our coverage of that - the last league game of the 2026 National Champions Cup - 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, Zeeshan Naiyer. Good night!