With the final match of the tournament being played today between Sindh and Punjab, the finalists have already been determined: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan.
Previous Campaigns
This will be the 2nd final appearance for both teams: KPK played in the final last year whereas Balochistan played Federal Areas in the final of the inaugural season.
Here is how both teams have performed thus far in Pakistan Cup:
| Pakistan Cup Edition | Table Finish | |
|---|---|---|
| KPK | Balochistan | |
| 2017 | 5th | 1st |
| 2018 | 2nd | 5th |
| 2019 | 2nd | 1st |
Both teams came up against Federal Areas in their respective finals and lost. This year, Federal Areas is ranked at the bottom due to changes in the team and close losses.
Run to the Final
Both teams have performed consistently in 2019’s edition of Pakistan Cup and remain unbeaten. The one head-to-head match between both teams yielded no result due to rain.
| KPK | Balochistan |
| vs. Federal Areas – won by 3 wickets | vs. Punjab – won by 6 wickets |
| vs. Punjab – won by 4 wickets | vs. Sindh – won by 72 runs |
| vs. Balochistan – no result | vs. KPK – no result |
| vs. Sindh – won by 9 runs | vs. Federal Areas – won by 23 runs |
Pakistan Cup Final
The Pakistan Cup Final is scheduled to be held on April 12 at 2:00 pm at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The top two teams, KPK and Balochistan, will fight for the silverware as players will look to impress the selectors ahead of the World Cup.
For KPK, the leading run-scorer is left-hander Khushdil Shah who has 314 runs from 4 innings including 2 centuries supported by massive sixes. On the other hand, Umar Akmal is the top run-getter for Balochistan this year with 319 runs at an average of 106.33. He is also the top run-scorer this season overall.
Wahab Riaz from KPK and Ammad Butt from Balochistan are the leading wicket-takers this year until now with 9 wickets each.
Who do you think will win the Pakistan Cup 2019? Let us know in the comments section.
