Karachi (Sports Report):-Balochistan’s Shan Masood third century of the season helped his side to recover from 49 for five to 305 all-out on day one of the final round match of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy against table-toppers Northern at State Bank of Pakistan Stadium on Saturday.
After Northern opted to bowl first in an uncontested toss – the match which is being live streamed on PCB’s YouTube channel, Balochistan continued to lose wickets at regular intervals with half of their side went back to the pavilion with 49 runs on the board.
The left-handed opening batter Shan was joined by Kashif Bhatti, and the pair went on to add 140 runs for the sixth wicket. Kashif scored 68 off 78, which included 10 fours and one six. Shan hit 22 fours and five sixes in his sterling 172-ball 190 innings.
For Northern, right-arm pacers Athar Mehmood and Kashif Ali picked four wickets apiece.
At stumps, Northern were 28 for no loss after 11 overs.
At UBL Sports Complex, four placed Central Punjab kept second placed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in check after opting to bowl first in an uncontested toss. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa openers Ashfaq Ahmed and Fakhar Zaman provided a solid 135-run partnership for the first wicket.
Left-handed Fakhar who makes a comeback in the side after performing in the international cricket transferred his form into the domestic game with a 128-ball 76. His innings included 13 fours. His partner Ashfaq scored 71 off 120 balls, which included 13 fours. Captain Iftikhar Ahmed who recently featured in the T20I series against West Indies scored 53 off 77, smashing six fours and two sixes.
At stumps, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were 305 for seven in 80.3 overs. Sajid Khan (48, five fours, three sixes, 50b) and Rehan Afridi (24, three fours, 31b) will resume their batting tomorrow.
For Central Punjab, right-arm fast Mohammad Ali picked three wickets for 57, while Faheem Ashraf returned with two for 55 in 13 overs.
At NBP Sports Complex, third-placed Sindh managed to score 275 for five in 88.2 overs against Southern Punjab at the close of play. After opting to bowl first in an uncontested toss, Southern Punjab bowlers put Sindh in a spot of bother with four wickets down at the score of 94 which included captain Asad Shafiq wicket who departed for naught.
Saad Khan batting at number four was joined by Test batter Fawad Alam, and the pair stitched 160-run partnership for the fifth wicket. Saad scored 88 off 169, which included 10 fours. Fawad returned undefeated scoring 75 off 158, hitting six fours.
For Southern Punjab, Ali Usman bagged three wickets for 98.
Scores in brief:
Sindh vs Southern Punjab - NBP Sports Complex, Karachi
Sindh 275-5, 88.2 overs (Saad Khan 88, Fawad Alam 75 not out; Ali Usman 3-98)
Points so far: Sindh 2; Southern Punjab 1
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa vs Central Punjab – UBL Sports Complex, Karachi
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 305-7, 80.3 overs (Fakhar Zaman 76, Ashfaq Ahmed 71, Iftikhar Ahmed 53, Sajid Khan 48 not out; Mohammad Ali 3-57, Faheem Ashraf 2-55)
Points so far: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 3; Central Punjab 2
Balochistan vs Northern - State Bank of Pakistan Stadium, Karachi
Balochistan 305 all out, 59.1 overs (Shan Masood 190, Kashif Bhatti 68; Kashif Ali 4-49, Athar Mehmood 4-100)
Northern 28-0, 11 overs
Points so far: Balochistan 3; Northern 3
