ISLAMABAD, Nov 18 (APP): The eighth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy saw three crucial results on day two, Tuesday, as Sialkot, Faisalabad and Karachi Blues continued to race in their quest for a top two finish.
Elsewhere, Lahore Whites and Multan were set targets to achieve by Bahawalpur and Peshawar, respectively as those two fixtures also look destined for an early finish.
No.3 placed Faisalabad registered a crucial 178-run triumph over Abbottabad at the Marghzar Cricket Ground in their bid for a top two finish with one game to go against Bahawalpur.
Chasing a 278-run target on the second day, Abbottabad folded for a mere 99 in 41 overs as Faisalabad’s spin trio of Hasan Raza (4-40), Ali Asfand (3-7) and Ahmed Safi Abdullah (3-41) ran riot returning combined figures of 10-88 in just 11 overs.
Left-arm spinner Asfand was awarded player of the match for his returns of 5-31, 3-7 with the ball and a 16-ball 13 not out and a 115-ball 65 with the bat.
Earlier in the day, Faisalabad were dismissed for 279 in 84 overs after resuming from 97-2 in 30 overs overnight. Apart from Asfand maiden first-class half-century, Mohammad Awais Zafar contributed a useful 83 off 116 hitting 10 fours and three sixes. No.7 Raees Ahmed remained unbeaten for 47 off 83 balls hitting seven fours.
For Abbottabad, Khalid Usman picked up his 18th first-class five-for (32-7-92-5) and second in the match to end up with his best match figures of 12-134.
No.2 placed Karachi Blues made a strong stride towards cementing their place in the final with an innings and 104-run win over Islamabad at the Diamond Cricket Ground. They will face table toppers Sialkot in the last round.
With a massive 207-run first innings deficit in the bank, Islamabad crumbled in their second dig slipping to 27-4 and then 103 all out with no one except Hasan Nawaz (35, 66b, 5x4s) crossing the 20-run mark. For Blues, Saqib Khan and Kashif Bhatti picked up three wickets each, while Muhammad Umar dismissed two batters.
Earlier, Karachi Blues had resumed from overnight score of 294-6 in 57 overs with Saud Shakeel at 88 not out. The Test left-hander took no time to complete his 23rd first-class century (130, 164b, 15x4s, 3x6s) before the Blues were bowled out for 368 after facing 14.5 overs on day two.
Islamabad’s Hasan Nawaz and Shayan Sheikh picked up three wickets each.
Table toppers Sialkot put their best stride forward in creating a gap between second placed Karachi Blues and joint-third placed Faisalabad and Peshawar – after seven rounds – with a seven-wicket victory over Multan at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.
Sialkot chased the 151-run target in 28.4 overs as Abdullah Shafique top-scored with 95 not out off 85 balls hitting 14 fours and four sixes – running out of runs to score with 12th first-class century in sight. Abdullah also shared a 107-run second-wicket stand with Azan Awais (37, 66b, 5x4s, 1×6)
Earlier, Fata began their second innings from 10-0 and looking to overcome a 76-run deficit. No.3 batter Salman Khan Jnr’s half-century 52, 91b, 7x4s) meant that FATA cruised into lead 125-2 before losing the next eight wickets for just 101 runs.
Sialkot skipper Usama Mir led from front with the ball as he bagged his fourth first-class five-wicket haul (5-56) and also registered his best bowling figures in match (9-67).
No.4 batter Khushdil Shah and no.6 Rehan Afridi got starts with 30 runs each but couldn’t convert as their team only managed a 150-run lead, which wasn’t enough in the end. Hamza Nazar and Mehran Mumtaz aided Usama with 3-44 and 2-48, respectively.
Sialkot will face Karachi Blues in their last fixture at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium in a critical fixture in terms of race for the tournament’s final.
Lahore Whites required 78 more runs to win at close of play on day two as they were 58-4 in 21 overs at stumps against Bahawalpur at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi. Tayyab Tahir (20 not out, 28b, 2x4s) and Hussain Talat (3 not out) will be on the crease on day three for Lahore Whites.
Bahawalpur’s Muhammad Umair took all four wickets for 27 runs in his 10 overs keeping his team in contention of a win.
Earlier in the day, Lahore Whites completed their first innings getting dismissed for 181 in 43.2 overs after resuming from 132-7 in 32 overs taking a 41-run lead mostly on the back of a 13-ball 22-run knock from Noman Ali, who hit two sixes and a four at no.10.
Mohammad Junaid picked up three wickets, while Mohammad Umair, Muhammad Imran and Mohammad Younis dismissed two batters.
In turn, Bahawalpur were dismissed for 176 in 48.1 overs with only three batters Muhammad Imran (44, 49b, 2x4s, 5x6s), Mohammad Ammar (40, 99b, 4x4s) and Saifullah Bangash (35, 59b, 3x4s) getting into double figures.
For Lahore Whites, pacers Mohammad Abbas and Aamir Jamal picked up three wickets each, while spinners Haseeb-ur-Rehman and Noman dismissed two batters each.
Multan were set a 282-run target by Peshawar on day two as they finished the day with 2-1 in three overs with Waqar Hussain departing for a two-ball duck against Azam Khan at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium, Peshawar.
On a 16-wicket day, Multan resumed their first innings from a dire position of 27-5 in 16 overs overnight and managed 125 all out courtesy handy lower order contributions from no.7 Bismillah Khan (40, 53b, 7x4s), no.8 Zeeshan Ashraf (32, 60b, 3x4s, 2x6s) and Ali Usman (22 not out, 3x4s).
Sajid Khan returned with 4-29 in 13 overs, while Razaullah and Niaz Khan picked up two wickets each.
In turn, with a 114-run first innings gain in the bag, Peshawar folded for 167 in 38.3 overs with Multan’s Ali Usman starring again with a five-for to bag match figures of 5-79 and 5-42 – his fourth consecutive five-for, fifth in the tournament, eighth in first-class career, second of the match and second consecutive 10-fer. He also bested his previous best match haul of 10-190 with 10-121 in this game.
