The President Cup final in Pakistan saw multiple unusual events.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Saud Shakeel was timed out in a rare dismissal
- The match is taking place in Rawalpindi
- Four wickets fell in three balls
The 2025 Pakistan's President Cup has seen a series of unprecedented activities, with it being the first-ever pink-ball match taking place in Pakistan. The clash between the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Pakistan Television (PT) at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is taking place between 7:30 PM and 2:30 AM over the course of five days.
While pink-ball matches have become increasingly common in Test cricket over recent years, they usually start at around 1 or 2 PM and end by 8-9 PM. However, the entire match taking place after sunset under lights and ending well past midnight is a never-seen-before thing in first-class cricket.
The reason behind the unusual timings is due to players observing fasts to mark the auspicious month of Ramadan. The match starts after Iftaar, with the first session taking place from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM local time. After a 20-minute tea break, the second session starts at 9:50 PM local time and ends at 11:50 PM. The third and final session starts at 12:20 AM local time with play ending around 2:30 AM just before players take their morning meal (Sehri) before beginning their fast.
Saud Shakeel's Rare Dismissal And A Strange Hat-Trick
Saud Shaekeel, who is Pakistan's vice-captain in Test cricket and was playing for the Men in Green in the 2025 Champions Trophy, is playing this match but ended up getting dismissed in a rare manner. Shakeel was timed out and became only the 7th player in first-class cricket history and the first cricketer from Pakistan to be dismissed in this manner.
Although there were rumours that he was sleeping when the incident happened, a report by ESPN Cricinfo has revealed that the 29-year-old did not take guard within the allotted three minutes as he was unprepared due to the sudden fall of two wickets.
The 'Timed Out' dismissal had become the talk of the town during the 2023 Cricket World Cup when Angelo Matthews was dismissed in such a manner against Bangladesh.
Shakeel's dismissal also led to Muhammad Shahzad taking a hat trick in a bizarre sequence of play that saw SBP lose four wickets within the space of three balls. Shehzad dismissed skipper Umar Amin for six runs before Fawad Alam departed for a golden duck. At this point, Shakeel was supposed to walk out to bat but was dismissed without any ball being bowled in the match. On the next ball, Shahzad dismissed new batter Irfan Khan too.
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