Lahore, 10 October 2021: Sarwar Afridi scored a fine 82 not out to steer Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to a three-wicket over Southern Punjab on the third and last day in the third round of the three-day Cricket Associations Championship on Sunday.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa almost made a mess of a paltry 133-run victory target at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, slipping to 82 for seven. But Sarwar struck 11 fours in an unbeaten 146-ball innings to take his side home without any further damage, despite Ali Shafiq’s four wickets for 17 runs and Ali Usman’s two for 56.
Earlier, Southern Punjab had started the day at 130 for six and were bowled out for 190. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Sajid Khan followed up his five for 74 with seven for 98 for match figures for 12 for 172.
At the LCCA ground in Lahore, Sindh held Northern for a draw after sending them on a leather chase to score a mammoth 517 for six in their second innings. Saad Khan, who resumed this morning at 54 in his side’s 192 for four, remained undefeated on 203 in an innings that came off 288 balls and included 17 fours and four sixes.
Saifullah Bangash also enjoyed good batting conditions when he scored 187 off 236 balls with 21 fours and a six. Together with Saad, Saifullah added 348 runs for the fifth wicket that dashed Northern’s victory hopes.
When the match ended, Northern, who had forced Sindh to follow on after taking a 240-run first innings lead, were 75 for two.
Central Punjab and Balochistan fixture at the Rana Naved-ul-Hasan Cricket Academy in Sheikhupura petered into a draw. With an 81-run first innings lead in the bag and resuming the day at 32 for no loss, Central Punjab declared their second innings at 262 for four.
Balochistan, set a victory target of 344, finished at 119 for two.
The stars for Central Punjab were openers Imran Dogar and Abid Ali, who switched a 166-run partnership. Imran missed his second century of the match when he was dismissed for 93 (105b, 9x4, 4x6), while Abid also missed a century by four runs when he fell for 96 (138b, 11x4).
Scores in Brief (day 3 of 3):
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Southern Punjab by three wickets at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Southern Punjab 202 all out, 64.2 overs (Waqar Hussain 84; Zohaib Khan 5-46, Sajid Khan 5-74) and 190, 76.3 overs (Umar Siddiq 36, Ali Usman 33, Hamayun Altaf 31, Naved Yasin 30, Sajid Khan 7-98)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 260 all out, 82 overs (Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 61, Waqar Ahmed 43; Ali Usman 6-91) and 133-7, 47.4 overs (Sarwar Afridi 82 not out; Ali Shafiq 4-17, Ali Usman 2-56)
Sindh (follow-on) drew with Northern at the LCCA Ground, Lahore
Northern 368 for 7, 83 overs (Abdul Faseeh 82, Sarmad Hameed 68; Ghulam Mudassar 3-67) and 75-2 (Abdul Faseeh 33 not out)
Sindh 128 all out, 34.5 overs (Saad Khan 66, Mohammad Shahid 29; Raza Hasan 4-54, Shadab Majeed 3-19, Kashif Ali 3-29) and 517-6d (Saad Khan 203 not out, Saifullah Bangash 187, Faraz Ali 65, Ammad Alam 38; Kaashif Ali 3-60, Umar Waheed 2-106)
Central Punjab drew with Balochistan at Rana Naved-ul-Hasan Cricket Academy, Sheikhupura
Central Punjab 418 for 9, 83 overs (Imran Dogar 143, Rizwan Hussain 70, Tabraiz Butt 56;Tariq Jameel 3-50, Hayatullah 3-88) and 262-4, 52.2 overs (Abid Ali 96, Imran Dogar 93, Rizwan Hussain 54 not out; Mohammad Javed 3-102)
Balochistan 337 for 9d, 82.5 overs (Gulraiz Sadaf 92, Fahad Iqbal 77, Mohammad Shahid 50; Mohammad Ali 3-67)
