Sialkot Holds Firm as Saad Baig’s Twin Centuries Define Thrilling Sixth Round

Rab Nawaz Wahid Special Correspondent
The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2025-26 reached a fever pitch this week as the competition crossed its halfway point, with Karachi Blues clinching a major victory over Peshawar fueled by a sensational double-century performance from young star Saad Baig. Meanwhile, Sialkot Region solidified its position at the top of the points table, establishing itself as the team to beat in the race for the final.
Round Six Recap: Karachi Blues’ Dominance and Batting Records
The sixth round of Pakistan’s premier first-class tournament delivered high drama and eye-catching individual feats across the country’s main centers.

The Baig-Hamza Show
The match between Karachi Blues and Peshawar at the Marghzar Cricket Ground proved to be the fixture of the round. Karachi Blues secured a convincing 218-run victory, largely thanks to 19-year-old former Pakistan U19 captain Saad Baig.

Baig, already a leading run-scorer in the tournament, delivered a match-winning performance with twin centuries, scoring 109 in the first innings and following it up with a superb 116 in the second. This extraordinary effort earned him the Player of the Match award and continued his prolific run of form.
Complementing the batting heroics was pacer Mohammad Hamza, who tore through the Peshawar line-up in the final innings with a crucial five-wicket haul (5-63), ensuring Peshawar, despite a fighting century from veteran Iftikhar Ahmed (108), was bundled out for 291 in pursuit of a massive 510-run target.

Outright Wins and Draws
In other key results, Faisalabad Region maintained their strong run by defeating Lahore Whites by 4 wickets, while Islamabad Leopards secured a ten-wicket win over Multan Region.
The contest between league leaders Sialkot and Bahawalpur ended in a high-scoring draw, a result that favored Sialkot’s lead. Similarly, the Abbottabad versus FATA match at Rawalpindi also concluded in a draw, despite FATA enforcing the follow-on. Abbottabad opener Shahzaib Khan mirrored Baig’s brilliance with scores of 167 and an unbeaten 100, earning a well-deserved Player of the Match award.

*Analysis: *The Points Table Tightens
With Round Six complete, the points table has a clear hierarchy but a fiercely contested top four:

1. Sialkot Region: 102 Points (3 Wins, 0 Losses)
2. Faisalabad Region: 94 Points (3 Wins, 1 Loss)
3. Peshawar Region: 87 Points (3 Wins, 2 Losses)
4. Karachi Blues: 86 Points (2 Wins, 2 Losses)
   Sialkot’s strength lies in their unbeaten record. They are the only side yet to suffer a loss, demonstrating a resilience built on consistent performance that has seen them convert low-scoring opportunities into draws and win the key fixtures. Faisalabad’s outright wins have propelled them into second place, while Karachi Blues’ recent victory sees them leapfrog into the thick of the semi-final race.
   Star Performer Spotlight
   The individual stats sheets after the sixth round confirm a few players are head and shoulders above the rest:

• Batting: Saad Khan (Bahawalpur) remains the leading run-scorer with 781 runs, including the tournament’s highest score of 215. Close behind is the in-form Saad Baig with 747 runs. The consistent scoring from these two suggests their teams will rely heavily on them in the crunch matches to come.
• Bowling: Mohammad Ali (FATA) leads the wicket-taking charts with 25 wickets, closely followed by Saqib Khan (Karachi Blues) with 24 wickets, highlighting the quality pace-bowling attacks that have dictated results on many pitches.
  The stage is now set for a fascinating finish, with the seventh round beginning on Tuesday, November 11th, where the clash between Multan and Sialkot promises to be a critical fixture that could either solidify Sialkot’s lead or throw the title race wide open