Khalid Usman's four-wicket burst powers Markhor IT to President's Trophy Grade-I crown with 51-run win over SBP

LAHORE: Markhor IT (MIT Solutions) claimed the President's Trophy Grade-I title on Friday, beating State Bank of Pakistan by 51 runs on the final day of the final at Bagh-e-Jinnah, after Khalid Usman's four-wicket spell snuffed out SBP's resistance inside the first session. Resuming the fourth morning on 165 for 7 in pursuit of 237, SBP added only 20 runs before being bowled out for 185. Mohammad Abbas, who had survived the previous evening, managed six off 30 deliveries with one boundary before departing. Mohammad Ismaeel then removed the well-set Mubashir Khan for 32 off 56 balls, including three fours. Khalid Usman finished the job by dismissing Kashif Bhatti for two, ending with 4/38 from 16.5 overs. Ismaeel picked up two wickets, while Aamer Jamal and Salman Aslam claimed one each. Momentum had been building for MIT Solutions a day earlier. Resuming their second innings at 273 for 7 on the third day, they were bowled out for 296 in 74.5 overs, adding just 23 to their overnight total. Aamer Jamal top-scored with a determined 55 off 81 deliveries, hitting seven boundaries; the all-rounder had already starred with the ball in the first innings with a seven-wicket haul. For SBP, Mohammad Abbas returned figures of 5/70 in 18 overs, with Sirajuddin taking three wickets and Shahid Aziz and Kashif Bhatti one each. Chasing 237, SBP made a steady start as openers Hasan Raza and Abdullah Fazal put on 49. Salman Aslam broke the stand in the 20th over, dismissing Fazal for 25 off 68. Hasan then shared useful partnerships with Faham-ul-Haq (13) and Kamran Ghulam (16), but Ghulam's dismissal by Jamal in the 41st over triggered a collapse: SBP lost five wickets in quick succession, including Hasan's, and slumped to 147 for 7. Hasan was the innings' top scorer with a fighting 73 off 136 balls, striking eight fours. Mubashir Khan attempted to revive the chase, building an unbeaten 17-run eighth-wicket stand with Abbas before stumps, but the resistance ended on the final morning. The match was ultimately decided by a mismatch in the lower-order contributions. From 165 for 7, SBP needed more than 70 with three wickets in hand; they managed only 20. On the other side, the lower order's contribution mattered too: Jamal's 55 at No. 7 pushed the total from 273 to 296, and that cushion proved decisive. Jamal's 55, his seven wickets in the first innings and Usman's 4/38 give the title a distinctly all-round shape — no single performer carried the side, which is precisely why SBP could not target one. For SBP, the bowling did its job: Abbas's five-for and Sirajuddin's three kept MIT under 300 twice. The batting could not match it. Hasan Raza's 73 was the only innings of substance in the top order, and once he fell at 147 for 7, there was no route back. In a four-day final, one session of passive batting generally determines the result, and that session was the fourth morning at Bagh-e-Jinnah.