Sports Bulletin Report
Rawalpindi:-Northern defeated Balochistan by 10 wickets, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa versus Central Punjab and ATF Southern Punjab versus Sindh matches ended in draws in the third round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, which ended on Wednesday.
Hussain Talat stroked his fourth century in 51 matches as Balochistan, who resumed their second innings at 136 for five and required another 168 runs to make Northern bat again, added 200 runs on the final day to be dismissed for 336 at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Northern took just 43 balls to race to the 33-run target for their second victory in three matches.
Hussain, who had yet to open his account when play ended on Tuesday, scored an unbeaten 115 from 178 balls with 15 fours and two sixes. He added 93 runs for the sixth wicket with Khurram Shahzad (59 from 89 balls with 11 fours) as the last four Balochistan wickets added 107 runs with Hussain dominating the scoring.
For Northern, 20-year-old Mubasir Khan, who was adjudged player of the 2021-22 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, followed up his three for 18 with three for 50 for match haul of six wickets for 68 runs.
At the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Omair Bin Yousuf scored an unconquered 110 – his sixth career century in 31st match – and young Saim Ayub missed his maiden century by five runs as Sindh held AFT Southern Punjab for a draw.
Set a 381-run target and resuming the last day at 57 for no loss, Sindh finished at 326 for seven. Omair’s 110 came off 192 balls and contained 15 fours, while Saim’s 138-ball 95 included 12 fours and two sixes.
For AFT Southern Punjab, Mohammad Abbas picked up three for 55, while Ahmed Bashir snapped up two for 53.
At the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, defending champion Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Central Punjab match ended in a draw after one-and-a-half day’s play was lost due to rain and wet outfield.
After there was no play on the third day, Central Punjab resumed their first innings at 173 for four in reply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 220 and the entire side was dismissed for 274. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Khalid Usman and Test off-spinner Sajid Khan snapped up six for 86 and four for 100, respectively.
When the match ended, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were 174 for three in their second innings.
Sahibzada Farhan raced to his fourth first-class century in 44th match and remained undefeated on 100 that came off 121 balls and included 13 fours and a six. Together with Rehan Afridi (54 not out), Sahibzada Farhan put on 142 runs for the unfinished fourth wicket after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had slipped to 32 for three.
Scores in brief (3rd round, day 4 of 4):
AFT Southern Punjab-Sindh match ended in a draw at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
AFT Southern Punjab (overnight 259-7) 278 all-out, 94.3 overs (Usman Salahuddin 89, Umar Siddiq 47, Ali Usman 42, Mohammad Ilyas 39; Abrar Ahmed 5-94, Mohammad Umar 2-51, Mir Hamza 2-52) and (overnight 77-3) 283 all-out, 85.5 overs (Zain Abbas 138, Umar Siddiq 42, Ali Usman 26 not out; Abrar Ahmed 6-100, Ghulam Mudassar 2-59, Mir Hamza 2-64)
Sindh 181 all-out, 50.2 overs (Mohammad Umar 59, Saad Khan 36, Fawad Alam 32; Mohammad Ilyas 5-50, Ahmed Bashir 3-31, Mohammad Abbas 2-41) and (overnight 57-0) 326-7 (Omair Bin Yousuf 110 not out, Saim Ayub 95, Saad Khan 44, Saud Shakeel 24, Fawad Alam 22; Mohammad Abbas 3-55, Ahmed Bashir 2-53)
Match points: AFT Southern Punjab 13, Sindh 9
Northern beat Balochistan by 10 wickets at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad
Northern (1st innings) (overnight 347-3) 520-8d, 116 overs (Faizan Riaz 201 not out, Mohammad Huraira 169, Abdul Faseeh 34, Umar Amin 22; Taj Wali 5-91) and 34-0
Balochistan (overnight 108-4) 216 all out, 81.1 overs (Asad Shafiq 53, Hussain Talat 48, Yasir Shah 31, Haris Sohail 26; Mubasir Khan 3-18, Athar Mehmood 2-45, Kashif Ali 2-55, Aamir Jamal 2-67) and (overnight 136-5) 336 (Hussain Talat 115, Khurram Shahzad 59, Ali Waqas 41, Imran Butt 38; Mubasir Khan 3-50)
Match points: Northern 26, Balochistan 2
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Central Punjab match ended in a draw at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (no play)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 220 all out, 77.4 overs (Waqar Ahmed 58, Sahibzada Farhan 44, Nabi Gul 40; Usama Mir 6-91, Ahmed Daniyal 3-33) and 174-3 (Sahibzada Farhan 100 not out, Rehan Afridi 54 not out)
Central Punjab (overnight 173-4) 274 (Abid Ali 66, Abdullah Shafique 51, Mohammad Saad 37, Tayyab Tahir 33, Ali Shan 22; Khalid Usman 6-86, Sajid Khan 4-100)
Match points: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 9, Central Punjab 12
