President’s Trophy Final: Underdogs Markhor Take On Unbeaten SBP

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State Bank of Pakistan and Markhor IT Solutions will meet in the President’s Trophy final on October 25 in Karachi. SBP finished unbeaten, while Markhor reached the final in their debut season.

The President’s Trophy 2026-27 final is set, and it’s a matchup that has cricket fans buzzing. State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Markhor IT Solutions will face off at the SBP ground in Karachi starting October 25. It’s a five-day first-class match that promises to deliver plenty of drama. ### How They Got Here Both teams finished at the top of the eight-team standings after the round-robin stage. SBP ended first, unbeaten, while Markhor secured second place in their debut season. Neither team let their position slip when it mattered most. This final will be the first first-class fixture of the season in Karachi. All previous matches were played in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab, so the change of venue adds a fresh dynamic. ### Markhor’s Remarkable Debut 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 then came a 75-run victory over OGDCL in the fifth round, which turned things around. They followed that with a draw against SBP and a six-wicket win over Pakistan TV to seal their spot in the final. Markhor earned promotion to the top tier in July by winning the grade-II competition, thanks to a first-innings lead over Kingsmen. ### SBP’s Unbeaten Run State Bank of Pakistan, on the other hand, cruised through the group stage without a single loss. They racked up 107 points, the only team to cross the 100-point mark. Their two wins came against Ghani in the third round and OGDCL in the fourth, with the remaining five matches drawn. ### Promotion and Relegation Drama Kingsmen secured promotion to next year’s first-class President’s Trophy with an 82-run win over Eshaal Associates. They’ll join their sister team, Kingsmen Academy, who finished third this season. Kingsmen will replace OGDCL, who finished at the bottom for the second year running. OGDCL had been relegated to the grade-II gold competition last year but returned after the Pakistan Cricket Board removed WAPDA and Saahir Associates for failing to meet regulations introduced before the 2026-27 season. Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited pushed OGDCL to the bottom in the last round with a four-wicket win over Khan Research Laboratories in Rawalpindi. Chasing 191, Mohammad Rizwan (64 in the first innings) and Abdul Samad (69 not out in the chase) guided them home. > "It's a dream come true for us," said a Markhor team spokesperson. "We've worked incredibly hard, and now we're one step away from the title." ### What’s Next? The first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy begins on November 1, featuring twenty teams from sixteen regions in gold and silver divisions. But first, all eyes are on the President’s Trophy final. Will SBP maintain their unbeaten streak, or will Markhor cap off their debut season with a fairytale ending?

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