Northern are on the verge of recording their first win of the season after forcing Central Punjab to follow-on on day-three of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy round-seven which is being played at three Karachi venues.
Over at the the UBL Sports Complex, Karachi, Balochistan amassed 606 runs in their first innings as Ayaz Tassawar and captain Bismillah Khan joined Shan Masood in the centurions club for the innings. The left-handed Ayaz scored the fifth century of his first-class career, his 149-run innings was studded with 16 fours and two sixes and came off 210 balls.
Bismillah blazed his way to 125 off 127 balls (19 fours, one six). Kashif Bhatti and Khurram Shehzad then rubbed salt in the Southern Punjab bowlers wounds with contributions of 71 and 50 respectively as Balochistan took a 123-run lead over Southern Punjab’s first innings score of 483.
At close on the third-day, Southern Punjab had reached 37 for no loss in their second innings.
Over at the State Bank of Pakistan Stadium in the match between Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa which is being live streamed on PCB’s YouTube channel, Khurram Manzoor’s 30th first-class century was the highlight of Sindh’s second innings.
After conceding a 120-run lead, the table-toppers heading into the tournament’s seventh-round fought back through contributions by Khurram, Saad Khan and captain Asad Shafiq which helped them post 377 runs in their second innings. Sindh set Khyber Pakhtunkhwa a 258-run target, KP finished the day at 13 for no loss, they will be needing another 245 runs on the fourth and final day tomorrow to register their second successive victory in the tournament.
On Thursday, Khurram’s 107 came off 280 balls and included 12 fours. Saad’s unbeaten 89 included 12 fours and two sixes, the left-hander faced 143 balls.
Asad hit 13 fours in his 83 (166 balls). Irfanullah Shah who took five wickets in the first innings took four in the second while Asif Afridi took three wickets.
Over at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, Northern are on the verge of recording their first win of the season after capturing nine Central Punjab second innings wickets after forcing them to follow-on. Resuming at the overnight score of 223 for eight, Central Punjab were bowled out for 257, conceding a 188-run lead.
Northern enforced the follow-on and their bowlers led by off-spinner Mubasir Khan and speedster Haris Rauf gave another outstanding performance to leave Central Punjab reeling at 197 for nine at close of play, a mere nine runs ahead with only wicket standing. Haris took three wickets for 62 and if he succeeds in taking the last wicket tomorrow, Haris would complete his maiden ten-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
The promising Mubasir Khan who continues to impress with his all-round talent took five wickets for 34 runs. Central Punjab collapsed from 115 for one to 189 for nine with Mubasir and Haris doing the damage.
Ali Zaryab with 71 (nine fours, 169 balls) and Imran Dogar with 55 were the only batters to offer some resistance to Northern bowlers in the second innings.
Scores in brief:
Southern Punjab vs Balochistan –UBL Sports Complex, Karachi
Southern Punjab 483 all out, 117.5 overs (Salman Ali Agha 135, Yousuf Babar 119 not out, Zeeshan Ashraf 102; Kashif Shehzad 3-63, Akif Javed 3-78) and 37 for no loss, 10 overs.
Balochistan 606 all out, 124 overs (Ayaz Tassawar 149, Bismillah Khan 125, Shan Masood 105, Kashif Bhatti 71; Hassan Khan 3-27, Aamer Yamin 2-63)
Points so far: Southern Punjab – seven, Balochistan – six.
Sindh vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa –State Bank of Pakistan Stadium, Karachi
Sindh 145 all out, 42.1 overs (Asad Shafiq 31, Faraz Ali 31; Irfanullah Shah 5-43, Asif Afridi 3-16) and 377 all out, 124.1 overs (Khurram Manzoor 107, Saad Khan 89 not out, Asad Shafiq 83; Irfanullah Shah 4-51, Asif Afridi 3-112) and 13 for no loss, 3.3 overs
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 265 for 9 (declared) 64.1 overs (Musadiq Ahmed 75, Asif Afridi 50, Iftikhar Ahmed 40; Sohail Khan 5-82, Mir Hamza 3-62)
Points so far: Sindh – three, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa – eight.
Northern vs Central Punjab – National Bank of Pakistan Stadium, Karachi
Northern 445 for 8 (declared), 106 overs (Haider Ali 206, Faizan Riaz 67, Muhammad Huraira 54; Muhammad Ali 3-68)
Central Punjab 257 all out, 71.5 overs (Hussain Talat 51, Imran Dogar 43; Haris Rauf 6-47, Mubasir Khan 2-38) and 197 for 9, 75.1 overs (Ali Zaryab 71, Imran Dogar 55; Mubasir Khan 5-34, Haris Rauf 3-62)
Points so far: Northern – 11, Central Punjab – four.
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