Khalid Latif, a school going lad of the ninth grade who opens the batting for Karachi U-19, hit a magnificent double century to enable his side to win the final of the Pepsi U-19 (Grade-I) tournament played at the KRL Ground, Rawalpindi.

Khalid was ably supported in his efforts by Humair Shafaat, the lanky fast bowler, who took nine wickets in the match, three on the last day, to prevent Gujranwala from reaching the target of 340 runs.

Gujranwala U-19, enjoying a first innings’ benefit of 18 runs, entered into the fourth and final day of the match with nothing in mind but to save their wickets. However, some fine bowling by Karachi U-19, aided by their own batting lapses sent Gujranwala packing home for 306 in their second innings.

Earlier, a Karachi side extremely demoralized after conceding the first innings lead, were lifted to a commanding position in the match by an extraordinary display of batting by Khalid Latif.

Khalid made 211 off 349 balls with the help of 29 fours and 4 sixes, after his side was reduced to 96 for 5 in their second innings. He added 130 invaluable runs along with Zeeshan Siddiqui (41) for the sixth wicket to take the score to 226. From here, he joinedS with Aftab Ahmad to add 78 runs for the 8th wicket.

Khalid’s wicket, the 9th of the innings, fell at the total of 355. The last wicket could add only two to the score as Karachi were all out for 357 just after tea on the third day of the match.

Gujranwala had a daunting task of chasing 340 runs in the last innings of the four-day match. However, for them the major task was not getting the runs but to bat throughout the remaining of the time.

Losing three wickets for 108 at the close of the third day, Gujranwala batsmen, led by the left-hander Naeem-ud-Din and Asim Munir, batted cautiously, their main aim being to save wickets. However, with 237 on the board and five wickets remaining, it seemed that Gujranwala would cruise to the target of 340, especially with Naeem playing very confidently.

It was at this juncture that the Karachi skipper, Muhammad Farooq, opted for the new ball and used his trump card, Humair to bowl from the pavilion end. The move worked wonders as Humair removed three Gujranwala batsmen in the space of five overs, including the dangerous Naeem, to bring his team very much back into the match.

Fayyaz Ahmad and Waseem Butt put on 43 for the 9th wicket, but after the former was clean bowled by the left-arm spinner, Azam Hussain, the resistance just left the Gujranwala camp.

Humair, the most successful bowler from both sides, returned with match figures of 9 for 162 runs. It was his five-wicket haul in the first innings that enabled Karachi to restrict Gujranwala to 226 in the first innings, when at one stage it seemed that they would post a big total.

During a simple ceremony after the match, the executive officer of Pepsi Cola presented the winner’s trophy and a cheque of Rs. 36,000 to the captain of the Karachi U-19 team. The manager of the winning team gave away cash prizes to the three outstanding performers from his team. They were Muhammad Farooq, the skipper who led the team well despite enormous pressure, Khalid and Humair. The prize distribution ceremony was followed by the photo sessions of both teams.

© CricInfo