Lahore, 24 September 2023:
Lahore Whites v Multan (Gaddafi Stadium)
After the rain-ordained gap of one day, Multan continued their batting from where it had been left off on day one.
Sharoon Siraj and Hamayun Altaf got a half-century each which bolstered Multan’s score; the 95-run-stand between the two solidified the control Multan had in the game. Mohammad Naveed and Mohammad Irfan, who got two wickets each, countered the batting onslaught at display.
Multan ended the day comfortably at 329 for the loss of six wickets with veteran Aamer Yamin and Ali Usman at the crease.
Peshawar v Rawalpindi (Abbottabad Stadium)
Waqar Ahmed Snr and Abbas Ali started the day for Peshawar, resuming from where they had left off the previous day. They batted together for 111 runs. Particularly, a brilliant 184 by Waqar was the highlight of the innings, until the side was bowled out for 317 runs.
A five-wicket-haul by Kashif Ali was, however, a source of respite for the Rawalpindi bowling, which was otherwise battered by Waqar.
Rawalpindi, already behind in the game owing to their tumultuous first innings, had a shaky start again as they lost three important wickets very early on. Specifically, Mohammad Ilyas removed Abdul Faseeh and Umer Waheed in successive balls, putting pressure on the Rawalpindi batting. Ilyas also registered a five-wicket-haul.
The side was bowled out for just 87 runs, which led Peshawar to a clear victory, with a margin of 93 runs and an innings to spare.
Faisalabad v Lahore Blues (Pindi Cricket Stadium)
At the start of the day, Faisalabad stood at 211 at the loss of eight wickets. The side lost the remaining two wickets without adding another run to the total.
Skipper Imran Butt attempted his best to give his side a solid start, putting up successive partnerships of 25 runs each with Umar Siddiq and Rizwan Hussain, and then a 45-run-partnership with Usman Salahuddin. However, the Blues’ batting kept seeing periodic fall of wickets.
Lahore scraped to 201 runs, mostly on the back of Nisar Ahmed’s knock of 44 runs. Three wickets each by skipper Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shahzad showed Faisalabad’s bowling prowess.
Faisalabad lost both their openers cheaply at the start of their second innings and only managed to put 34 on the board before stumps were called.
FATA v Karachi Whites (Shoaib Akhtar Stadium)
Karachi resuming their batting on fourth day at 64 for four. Fighting knocks from Rameesh Aziz, Danish Aziz and Mohammad Hassan helped Asad Shafiq-led side to 144 before they were bowled out.
A four-wicket-haul by Irfanullah Shah and two wickets apiece from Sameen Gul and Mohammad Sarwar Afridi helped FATA’s cause.
The Rehan Afridi-led side searched for stability throughout the innings; although the scorecard did not stagnate, wickets kept falling and no solid partnership was sustained. The highest score of the innings thus far was 24 that came off Mohammad Nisar Afridi’s bat.
At stumps, FATA were 110 for six in 41 overs.
Scores in brief
Lahore Whites v Multan (Gaddafi Stadium)
Multan: 329-6 in 96 overs (Zain Abbas 94, Sharoon Siraj 64; Mohammad Naveed 2-73, Mohammad Irfan 2-84)
Peshawar v Rawalpindi (Abbottabad Stadium)
Peshawar beat Rawalpindi by an innings and 93 runs.
Rawalpindi: 137 all out in 53.1 overs (Syed Aqib Shah 37; Niaz Khan 5-53, Abbas Afridi 3-26) and 87 all out in 27.2 overs (Bilawal Bhatti 20; Mohammad Ilyas 5-26, Sajid Khan 2-8, Abbas Afridi 2-26)
Peshawar: 317 all out in 88.3 overs (Waqar Ahmed Snr 184; Abbas Ali 45; Kashif Ali 5-101, Bilawal Bhatti 2-70)
Faisalabad v Lahore Blues (Pindi Cricket Stadium)
Faisalabad: 211 all out in 83.2 overs (Mohammad Abubakar Khan 63, Ali Shan 55; Ali Shafique 5-36, Kashif Bhatti 3-38) and 34-2 in 13 overs (Abubakar Khan 13 not out; Ali Shafique 1-10, Waqas Ahmed 1-20).
Lahore Blues: 201 all out in 59.5 overs (Nisar Ahmed 44, Imran Butt 42; Faheem Ashraf 3-39, Khurram Shahzad 3-41, Mohammad Ali 3-44)
FATA v Karachi Whites (Shoaib Akhtar Stadium)
Karachi Whites: 144 all out in 66.1 overs (Rameesh Aziz 45, Mohammad Hasan 32*; Irfanullah Shah 4-35, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 2-14, Sameen Gul 2-30)
FATA: 110-6 in 41 overs (Mohammad Nisar Afridi 24, Rehan Afridi 23; Ghulam Mudassar 2-25, Mir Hamza 2-30)
