Karachi knights prevail in cliffhanger final of red bull campus cricket.

A hush fell over the crowd as anticipation peaked. Two deliveries left, four runs required, and two wickets in hand.

Months of hard work came down to this point and both sides were firm in the belief that theirs was the truer claim to glory.

Yet, there could only be one winner and it was Karachi Knights' Abdur Rehman who came out on top in the battle of nerves, dispatching the second-last delivery of the penultimate over by Peshawar Markhors' Nazim Hussain to the boundary.

The thrilling finish marked the end of yet another highly successful edition of Red Bull Campus Cricket in Pakistan and secured Karachi's spot at the world finals to be held later this month in Dubai.

As the revelry commenced for Karachi, though, no one present at the Moin Khan Academy Stadium was in any doubt that it could have easily been Peshawar's day too.

Both sides overcame stiff competition in the Super Six and semi-finals stages, knocking out Lahore Lethals, Multan Infernos, Islamabad Shaheens, and Quetta Thunders to book a spot in the national final.

As has almost become a tradition, this year's Red Bull Campus Cricket national final was also a low-scoring affair but it was never short on action or suspense.

The two contenders were worlds apart in their approach - Peshawar cut a more focused and strategising figure, while Karachi exuded confidence and a certain degree of nonchalance stemming from past triumphs and unwavering self-belief.

It was Peshawar's first-ever appearance in the Red Bull Campus Cricket national final and the team from Islamia University was off to a stumbling start after winning the toss and electing to bat first.

Barring their one-down batsman Nawees Muhammad, Peshawar's top order failed to click and they were soon in deep trouble - first reduced to 13 for 3 and then 34 for 5.

At that point, the writing seemed to be on the wall for the Markhors as the dominant Knights' bowling line ratcheted up the pressure with a disciplined display focusing on line and length.

However, the top-scorer Nawees found support down the order in the form of the hard-hitting Awais Ali Shah, and the duo notched up a 40-run partnership to guide the Markhors towards a three-figure total.

Their resistance was ended by Karachi's eventual Man of the Match, Sheraz Hussain, who picked up Shah's wicket and effectively blocked the flow of runs. Sheraz followed up the vital breakthrough with two more wickets as Karachi bowled out Peshawar for a meagre total of 104.

With...