Lahore, 6 November 2021: Sahibzada Farhan stroked a match-saving career-best 163 for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa who held ATF Southern Punjab to a draw in a third round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy action at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
Farhan had started at 65 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 115 for three, who required another 41 runs to make Southern Punjab bat again. While Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ended their second innings at 342 after being forced to follow on, Farhan ensured his side was out of troubled water when he slapped 21 fours and two sixes in a 437 minutes of batting during which he faced 322 balls.
Other notable contributions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s match-saving effort came from Adil Amin (52), Niaz Khan (35) and Khalid Usman (31) as Southern Punjab’s Ali Usman followed up his five for 88 with five for 102 for match figures of 68-18-190-10.
While this was Farhan’s second century in 33rd match, it was Ali Usman’s maiden 10-fer in 11 appearances.
When the match ended, Southern Punjab, set an improbable 187 runs victory target in less than a session, were 42 for no wicket.
A career-best 203 by Mohammad Saad was the highlight of final day’s play in the match between Balochistan and Discover Pakistan Central Punjab, which ended in a high-scoring draw at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Central Punjab’s Saad batted for 407 minutes and struck 20 fours and three sixes to take his side to 604 for four when the match ended. Saad had started the day at 45 in his side’s 281 for two after Balochistan had declared their first innings at 472 for eight.
Abid Ali, who began the day at 139 not out, was dismissed after scoring 164 (20x4, 1x6, 276b), while Junaid Ali was the other notable scorer with 84 not out (9x4, 2x6, 103b). Together with Saad, Junaid added 180 runs for the unfinished fifth wicket partnership.
For Balochistan, Najeebullah Achakzai took two wickets for 93 runs.
GFS Sindh had to settle with first innings lead points after their match against Northern ended in a tame draw at the Multan Cricket Stadium. Resuming their innings at 403 for seven in reply to Northern’s 374, Sindh were bowled out for 489. When match ended Northern were 158 for one.
The feature of Saturday’s play was seventh career century by Sindh’s Mohammad Hasan. No.8 batter Hasan resumed this morning at 73 and was the last man out after scoring 125 – an innings that came after 227 minutes of batting during which he received 172 deliveries off which 14 were converted into fours.
For Northern, Test spinner Nauman Ali added two more scalps to finish with figures of 38-7-151-5, the 21st time he had taken a five-fer in his 87-match career.
Scores in brief (day 4 of 4, round 3):
At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad (match drawn)
ATF Southern Punjab 453 all out, 94.5 overs (Muhammad Imran 179, Azam Khan 103, Hassan Khan 54, Tayyab Tahir 52; Niaz Khan 3-62, Sameen Gul 3-82, Sajid Khan 3-120) and 42-0, 4 overs (Zia Ul Haq 23 not out, Hassan Khan 19 not out)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 297 all out, 88.3 overs (Nabi Gul 148 not out, Sahibzada Farhan 59, Niaz Khan 41, Sajid Khan 20; Ali Usman 5-88, Zia Ul Haq 3-77, Mohammad Ilyas 2-54) and 342 all out, 113.3 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 163, Adil Amin 52, Niaz Khan 35, Khalid Usman 31; Ali Usman 5-102, Mohammad Ilyas 2-66)
At Multan Cricket Stadium (match drawn)
Northern 374 all out, 108 overs (Mohammad Huraira 112, Aamir Jamal 55, Rohail Nazir 54, Nauman Ali 51, Faizan Riaz 46; Mir Hamza 4-65, Tabish Khan 2-82, Mohammad Asghar 2-85, Sohail Khan 2-90) and 158-1, 48 overs (Nasir Nawaz 80 not out, Umair Amin 52 not out, Mohammad Huraira 24)
GFS Sindh 489 all out, 148.3 overs (Mohammad Hasan 125, Saad Khan 123, Asad Shafiq 82, Mohammad Suleman 67, Khurram Manzoor 40, Sohail Khan 30; Nauman Ali 5-141, Aamir Jamal 2-68)
At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (match drawn)
Balochistan 472-8d, 131.5 overs (Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 203 not out, Jalat Khan 91, Imam-ul-Haq 72, Bismillah Khan 48, Haris Sohail 29; Ahmed Bashir 2-50, Zafar Gohar 2-92, Bilal Asif 2-117)
Discover Pakistan Central Punjab 604-4, 161.4 overs (Mohammad Saad 203 not out, Abid Ali 164, Junaid Ali 84 not out, Azhar Ali 73, Saad Naseem 36, Ahmed Shehzad 21; Najeebullah Achakzai 2-93)
