The opening match of the 21st Challengers Cup was played between new entrants Sea Trade and seasoned contenders Karachi Patriots.
Sea Trade batted first with their team struggling to convert some decent starts into big scores. Sabir was the only notable batsman to fight back for his side with 42 runs while Umar contributed 24 runs and the rest of the side threw away their wickets. Patriots bowlers kept the pressure on, picking wickets when needed to restrict the opposition. Adeel Abbasi starred in his spell picking up 3 wickets as Sea Trade ended at 146 for 9 in 20 overs.
In response, Patriots opener Faisal Butt played a classy 69 off 37 ball knock and carried his side to a very comfortable victory. His partner Tayyab however was dismissed for duck on the very first ball but Atif Ahmed's 24 and Adeel Abbasi's 36 not out saw Patriots home in 13.4 overs. Sea Trade were simply unable to keep up with only Uzair Ali Khan and Mohsin Khan picking up a wicket each.
Karachi Patriots won by 8 wickets.
