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Quetta, 24 September 2019: The Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first-class match between Balochistan and Southern Punjab ended in a draw at the Bugti Stadium on Tuesday.
When the stumps were drawn for the match on the fourth and final day, Balochistan in their second innings were 42 without loss in 11 overs. Imran Butt (29) and Azeem Ghumman (9) were the not out batsmen.
The home team had amassed 500-9 declared in their first innings. Southern Punjab, in reply, were bowled out for 308 in 94.4 overs and were forced to follow on.
Shan Masood’s men then scored 381 all out in 95 overs to set Balochistan a victory target of 190 runs in 26 possible overs till close. It, however, was a tall order and both teams settled for a draw.
Balochistan earned 13 points (5 for a draw, 5 batting, 3 bowling) while Southern Punjab secured 9 points (5 for a draw, 3 batting, 1 bowling).
Southern Punjab resumed their innings at 132-3 on Tuesday. They lost both overnight batsmen, Umar Siddiq (49) and Imran Rafiq (33), with 198 runs on the board, giving Balochistan a sniff of a possible win.
However, Adnan Akmal and Aamer Yamin stitched a 97-run partnership for the sixth wicket, and Bilawal Bhatti (38) again added important runs to take their team towards safety.
Adnan, the wicketkeeper-batsman, scored 82 with the help of nine fours. Aamer was more aggressive in his approach, cracking eight fours and two sixes in his 64-ball 61.
Test leggie Yasir Shah was the pick of Balochistan’s bowlers and finished with figures of 5-104. Hussain Talat and Mohammad Asghar took two wickets each.
Scores in brief:
Balochistan 500-9, 130.5 overs (Azeem Ghumman 163, Imran Farhat 117, Imran Butt 66, Amad Butt 54; Mohammad Irfan 5-131, Bilawal Bhatti 2-104) and 42-0, 11 overs (Imran Butt 29 not out, Azeem Ghumman 9 not out)
Southern Punjab 308 all out, 94.4 overs (Imran Rafiq 110 not out, Umar Siddiq 67, Bilawal Bhatti 57; Mohammad Asghar 3-41, Umar Gul 2-31, Taj Wali 2-50, Yasir Shah 2-126) and after follow-on 381 all out, 95 overs (Adnan Akmal 82, Aamer Yamin 61, Umar Siddiq 49, Shan Masood 45, Bilawal Bhatti 38, Sami Aslam 37, Imran Rafiq 33, Mohammad Irfan 19 not out; Yasir Shah 5-104, Hussain Talat 2-21, Mohammad Asghar 2-105)
Result - Match drawn
