Sports Reporter
LAHORE (November 9, 2021):-The fourth round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy season 2021-22 will resume from Wednesday with Central Punjab locking horns with Sindh in a pink ball contest under the floodlights at the Gaddafi Stadium. The final of the season will also be played with pink ball under the floodlights at the National Stadium Karachi from 25 to 29 December.
This will be the first pink ball match in the Quaid-e-Trophy since the inception of six teams in the domestic structure that was revamped in 2019-20. The remaining two matches of the round will be played with red balls.
The six teams will be eyeing for their maiden win of the season, as all nine matches of the tournament have so far ended in a draw. Only five points separate the six teams with Mohammad Abbas-led Southern Punjab lead the points table with 34 points, while Imam-ul-Haq’s Balochistan is on the sixth spot with 29 points.
Nauman Ali-led Northern is on the second spot with 33 points, while Azhar Ali’s Central Punjab is on the third position with 31 points. Iftikhar Ahmed’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 30 points are positioned on number four, while Fawad Alam’s Sindh is on the fifth spot with 29 points.
In the batting chart, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Sahibzada Farhan leads the table with 472 runs from three outings at 118. His best of 163 came against Southern Punjab, where he helped his side draw the match after being enforced follow-on at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Second on the list is Central Punjab’s Abid Ali who has scored 444 runs in three outings at 111, his highest of 164 came against Balochistan in the previous round match at Gaddafi Stadium.
The 28-year old Tayyab Tahir is third on the list with 412 runs from three matches at 103. The right-handed batter from Southern Punjab best of 221 came against Balochistan in the second round match at Multan Cricket Stadium.
In the bowling charts, Southern Punjab’s Ali Usman took 17 wickets from three matches at 29.12 with best of five for 88 in an innings against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the third round match. During the match, left-arm spinner Ali ended-up taking 10 wickets for 190 where he dismissed Farhan in both innings of the match.
Second on the list is another left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar, who representing Central Punjab has taken 13 wickets from three matches at 38.46. His best figures in an innings was four for 93. Northern’s Musa Khan is third on the list with 10 wickets from three matches. The 21-year old right-arm fast has best figures of five for 78, which he took against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the first round match.
Balochistan will play against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, while Northern will take on Southern Punjab at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
