Why is Pakistan's domestic cricket cup final being played till 2:30 AM? Odd timings grab attention at President's Trophy

Pakistan TV and State Bank of Pakistan are facing off in a unique match in the President's Trophy final, as super-late times forced the use of the pink ball.

A bit of history is being set in Pakistan during the ongoing final of the President’s Trophy, the nation’s domestic first class tournament, as the match is being played under lights with a pink ball due to the players following Ramadan.

Saud Shakeel is playing for the State Bank of Pakistan in the domestic President's Trophy final, but was timed out. (AFP)

The fast has meant that the matches are being played with some strange session timings, leading to an entire session being played after midnight, with stumps being called at 2:30 AM local time.

The match is being played between Pakistan Television and State Bank of Pakistan, both of whom finished on 149 points in the group stage thanks to 5 wins, two losses, and one draw each.

The match is being played at the Rawalpindi Stadium, with the entirety of day’s play taking place after the fast is broken during Iftar, after sundown. The first session starts at 7:30 PM PKT, with a pink ball being used in a first for Pakistan domestic cricket.

The session timing sees a tea break at 9:30 PM, before the second session takes place between 9:50 and 11:50. The final session only begins at 12:20 AM.

Shakeel timed out in strange circumstance

The strange session timings also led to an extremely rare occurrence, which saw what must be a first for high-level cricket as SBP lost four wickets in the space of just three deliveries. SBP were batting on 128-1 when fast bowler Muhammad Shahzad took two wickets in two deliveries.

The next wicket fell as Pakistan batter Saud Shakeel, was timed out, marking only the seventh time this has occurred in first class cricket. Shakeel, who scored a half-century against India in the ICC Champions Trophy, is the first Pakistan batter to be dismissed in this manner.

However, to make matters even stranger, Muhammad Shahzad completed a hat-trick off the very next ball, meaning in the space of three deliveries SBP had gone from 128-1 to 128-5. Their innings wouldn’t get going from that point, as they only put up 205.

Muhammad Shahzad’s fine match would continue as he brought up a century in the batting innings for PTV, with Waqar Hussain also scoring a century as PTV put up a score of 317 in their effort to take a strong first innings lead.

PTV were then able to use a late tilt at their opponents to take a wicket in the late-night session, leaving SBP on 37-1 at stumps on day 2.