President's Trophy Final 2026-27: State Bank vs Markhor – Who Will Take the Crown?

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-10-23

The President's Trophy 2026-27 final is set, and it's a matchup that has cricket fans buzzing. State Bank of Pakistan, the unbeaten table-toppers, will face Markhor IT Solutions, the debutants who've defied expectations. The five-day first-class match is scheduled to begin on October 25 at the SBP ground in Karachi. It's the first first-class fixture of the season to be played in Karachi, with all previous matches held in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. ### How They Got Here Both teams booked their spots after the seventh and final round of the round-robin stage. State Bank finished first with 107 points, the only team to cross the 100-point mark. Markhor ended second with 96 points. Neither team let their position slip in the final round, setting up a thrilling finale. ### Markhor's Remarkable Debut Season Markhor IT Solutions are playing in the first-class President's Trophy for the first time, and they've made quite an impression. They collected 96 points from seven matches, winning two. Their campaign didn't start smoothly—no wins in the first four games. But the fifth round brought a turn of fortune when they beat Oil and Gas Development Corporation Limited (OGDCL) by 75 runs. They then drew with State Bank in the sixth round and closed the group stage with a six-wicket victory over Pakistan TV. Markhor earned their place in the top tier in July, when they were declared winners of the grade-II competition on the strength of a first-innings lead over Kingsmen. ### State Bank's Unbeaten Run State Bank of Pakistan went through the group stage without a single defeat—a feat no other team matched. They won two matches, against Ghani in the third round and OGDCL in the fourth, while the remaining five were draws. Their consistency and resilience have made them the team to beat. ### Kingsmen Promoted, OGDCL Relegated Kingsmen secured promotion to next year's first-class President's Trophy with an 82-run win over Eshaal Associates earlier this week. They'll join their sister team Kingsmen Academy, who finished third this season. Kingsmen will take the place of OGDCL, who ended at the bottom of the table for the second year running. OGDCL had been relegated to the grade-II gold competition last year. They returned to the first-class event after the Pakistan Cricket Board removed WAPDA and Saahir Associates for failing to meet the regulations introduced before the 2026-27 season. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited pushed OGDCL to the bottom in the last round. They beat Khan Research Laboratories by four wickets in Rawalpindi and chased down a target of 191. Mohammad Rizwan returned as captain and scored 64 in the first innings, while Abdul Samad remained unbeaten on 69 in the chase. Imam-ul-Haq also came back to domestic cricket in the seventh round and scored an unbeaten 200 as captain of OGDCL. Hussain Talat and Ali Razzaq made centuries for Ghani, helping them hold on for a draw. ### What's Next? The first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy is set to begin on November 1, with twenty teams from 16 regions competing in gold and silver divisions. But first, all eyes will be on Karachi for what promises to be a captivating final. Will State Bank's unbeaten run continue, or can Markhor cap their debut season with a fairytale ending? > "Cricket is a game of uncertainties, and that's what makes it beautiful." – Unknown Stay tuned for more updates on this exciting domestic cricket season.