- Niaz Khan snapped his fourth first-class five-wicket haul on day two of the Quaid Trophy final
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Karachi, 3 January 2025: Fast bowler Niaz Khan picked up 5-61 to help Peshawar bundle out Sialkot for 245 in 85 overs on the second day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2024-25 final at the UBL Sports Complex, Karachi on Friday. Peshawar gained a 13-run first innings lead safeguarding their position if the final ends in a draw.
Pacer Mohammad Amir Khan backed up his fellow fast bowler’s heroics with three wickets for 38 runs in 21 overs. Niaz, who sent down 26 overs in the innings, took his tally of wickets to 35 in the tournament – second best to Musa Khan (38) – with his fourth first-class five-for.
Sialkot lost their prolific opening batter Azan Awais (18, 41b, 3x4s) and Ashir Mehmood (5, 7b, 1x4) early in the first session with 38 runs on the board in 14.3 overs after resuming from their overnight score of eight for no loss.
At this juncture, Mohammad Huraira (55, 127b, 5x4s, 1x6) joined forces with Mohsin Riaz (57, 130b, 11x4s) to stitch a dogged 102-run third-wicket partnership off 33.1 overs. With Huraira’s departure in the 48th over, Sialkot slipped to 198-8 and then 245 all out, losing eight wickets for 105 runs.
Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti chipped in with 26 off 75 balls, batting at No. 6, while Shahzaib Bhatti’s 47-ball 40, including three fours and as many sixes, while batting at No. 9, helped Sialkot erase much of the deficit. Apart from the pace duo of Niaz and Amir, skipper Sajid Khan dismissed one batter.
In turn, Peshawar only faced one over before the close of play scoring five runs and extending their lead to 18.
Scores in brief
Final - Day 2 of 5 – Peshawar Region vs Sialkot Region at the UBL Sports Complex, Karachi
Peshawar lead by 18 runs in second innings with ten wickets in hand
Peshawar 258 all out, 80.1 overs (Zubair Khan 47, Nabi Gul 44, Maaz Sadaqat 32, Mehran Ibrahim 31, Niaz Khan 31, Sajid Khan 23; Amad Butt 4-51, Ali Raza 3-62, Shoaib Akhtar Jr 2-60) and 5-0, 1 over
Sialkot 245 all out, 85 overs (Mohsin Riaz 57, Mohammad Huraira 55, Shahzaib Bhatti 40, Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti 26; Niaz Khan 5-61, Mohammad Amir Khan 3-38)
