Teenager Mohammad Huraira finished the second round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 with an excellent maiden first-class century as the match between his side, Northern, and Central Punjab ended in a draw at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
The 19-year-old batter struck 12 fours and a six, making an unbeaten 107 off 146. The right-hander from Sialkot added 89 and 110 runs with Nasir Nawaz (55 off 53) and Umar Amin (56 off 73) for the first and second wickets before the day ended with Northern, in their second innings, at 239 for two.
The day had begun with Northern eyeing their first win of the season with Central Punjab trailing by 184 with a wicket in hand, but a brilliant 96-run stand for the last wicket between Bilawal Iqbal (48 not out) and Ehsan Adil (49) helped Central Punjab post 367 all out in 116.5 overs.
The partnership denied Northern crucial bonus bowling points, as the Nauman Ali-captained side failed to bowl out Central Punjab in 100 overs.
Central Punjab bagged eight points from this match, while Northern pocketed 11.
The other two matches – played at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium and Multan Cricket Stadium – were also drawn.
At the Multan Cricket Stadium, Balochistan’s Ayaz Tasawar and Bismillah Khan converted their overnight half-centuries into centuries against Southern Punjab. Ayaz and Bismillah begun the day at 65 and 56, respectively, and they went on to make 113 and 116.
Ayaz smashed 14 fours in his 264-ball innings, while Bismillah dispatched 17 off the 205 balls he faced for fours.
Ali Usman took two wickets before Imran Butt’s Balochistan declared at 571 for seven.
Southern Punjab made 112 for two in their second innings with Tayyab Tahir, who made an excellent double-century in the first innings, top-scoring with 60 not out.
Southern Punjab gathered 11 points from this match, while Balochistan bagged nine.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa added 63 runs to their overnight score before they declared innings at 503-7 on the final day of their fixture against Sindh at the Iqbal Stadium.
Iftikhar Ahmed, who started the day eyeing a century, could add only one run to his overnight score as he was LBW by Sohail Khan for 82. He hit 11 fours and a six in the 148 balls he faced.
Rehan Afridi, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wicketkeeper-batter, smashed 74 off 131 (10 fours) down the order. He was dismissed by Fawad Alam, the opposition’s captain. Fawad’s left-arm orthodox bagged him two wickets – the most in the innings – for 46 runs in 12.2 overs.
Sindh’s Asad Shafiq and Fawad Alam scored solid half-centuries as they made 96 and 66 before the stumps were drawn. Their resilient knocks helped Sindh stage a recovery after they were reduced to 18 for three with Sameen Gul dismissing Sharjeel Khan and one-drop Saad Khan.
Sindh were 180 for five in 55 overs when stumps were drawn.
Sindh bagged nine points from the match, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa added 11 more points to their tally.
After the conclusion of the second round on Saturday, Northern lead the points table with 23 points. Southern Punjab are placed second with 21 points. Last season’s joint-winners Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are locked on 20 points with Balochistan as Central Punjab are third, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are fourth and Balochistan are fifth. Sindh, with 18 points, are at the bottom of the table.
Scores in brief:
Central Punjab and Northern play a draw at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Northern 455-9dec, 132.5 overs (Faizan Riaz 213, Sarmad Bhatti 82, Rohail Nazir 54, Nasir Nawaz 46; Ehsan Adil 3-60, Zafar Gohar 3-141) and 239-2, 50.1 overs (Mohammad Huraira 107 not out, Umar Amin 56, Nasir Nawaz 55)
Central Punjab 367 all out, 116.5 overs (Abid Ali 81, Hussain Talat 62, Ahmed Shehzad 58, Ehsan Adil 49, Bilawal Iqbal 48 not out; Musa Khan 4-81, Nauman Ali 2-127)
Match points – Northern 11, Central Punjab 8
Southern Punjab and Balochistan play a draw at Multan Cricket Stadium
Southern Punjab 457-5dec, 98.5 overs (Tayyab Tahir 221, Azam Khan 85, Imran Rafiq 81, Umar Siddiq 32, Zain Abbas 30; Junaid Khan 2-87) and 112-2, 32 overs (Tayyab Tahir 60 not out)
Balochistan 571-7, 178.1 overs (Bismillah Khan 116, Ayaz Tasawar 113, Imam-ul-Haq 109, Imran Butt 95, Haris Sohail 49, Amad Butt 35; Muhammad Imran 2-102, Ali Usman 2-165)
Match points – Southern Punjab 11, Balochistan 9
Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa play a draw at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Sindh 367 all out, 110.1 overs (Saad Khan 129, Fawad Alam 122, Sohail Khan 28, Ashiq Ali 26, Mohammad Hasan 25; Niaz Khan 5-58, Imran Khan Snr 3-58) and 180-5, 55 overs (Asad Shafiq 96, Fawad Alam 66 not out)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 503-7, 144.2 overs (Israrullah 160, Sahibzada Farhan 100, Iftikhar Ahmed 82, Rehan Afridi 74 not out, Adil Amin 25; Fawad Alam 2-46)
Match points – Sindh 9, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 11
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