RLCA face Okara in Seniors Cup national final today

KARACHI: The National Seniors Cup Cricket Tournament, being organised by the Pakistan Veterans Cricket Association (PVCA), will have a new champion when Rashid Latif Cricket Academy (RLCA) will be pitted against Okara in the final here at the Lawai Naya Nazimabad on Sunday (today).

RLCA and Okara will be battling out for their maiden national title after having emerged as the champions of the Southern and Northern regions, respectively.

The 19th edition of the National Seniors Cup 2017 was contested by a total of 103 teams.

It was for the first time in the 19-year history of the tournament that no team from Lahore could force its way into the Northern Region final which was contested between Okara and Wah Power.

Lahore, in fact, have dominated the Seniors Cup since its inception in 1998-99. They have been the national champions for a record nine times while the outfits from Karachi have captured the crown eight times, whereas the trophy was shared between them in 2002-03.

This season’s National Seniors Cup has witnessed the emergence of some powerful new outfits, having succeeded in going all the way to the final at the expense of the fancied teams in their respective regions.

Omar Associates, who had annexed the trophy in 2010-11 and 2014-15, besides having ended as the runners-up in 2011-12 and 2016-17, could not make it to the Southern Regional final this time, which was contested between RLCA and Gold Bridge Media.

Similarly, in the Northern Region, Amar Cables, who clinched the national title in 2014-15 and 2016-17, could not advance to the regional final, with Okara and Wah Power stealing the show.

Skipper Asim Jah, with his brilliant all-round performance, had played a key role for RLCA in the Southern Region final in which they overpowered former champions Gold Bridge Media by 28 runs.

Meanwhile, it was Muhammad Hafeez’s brilliant all-round performance which played a pivotal role in guiding Okara to their maiden triumph against Wah Power in the Northern Region final.