After setting up a mammoth first innings score of 502 all-out, Southern Punjab skittled out Balochistan for 295 in 79.3 overs at the back of right-arm medium-fast Umaid Asif’s five-wicket haul in a contest being live-stream on the PCB’s YouTube channel
Balochistan had resumed their innings on 37 for one and soon found themselves in a quagmire after losing two more wickets with 58 runs on board with their overnight batsmen Azeem Ghumman and Imran Butt back in the pavilion, courtesy Umaid.
A 119-run partnership for the fourth-wicket between Imran Farhat and Hussain Talat followed, which denied further inroads to the pacer - at least for a while.
Balochistan’s captain Imran scored 65 from 77 balls, hitting 10 fours in his 117-minute stay at the crease before he was caught behind off Umaid’s bowling.
All-rounder Hussain held the other end, setting up a 67-run partnership for the fifth-wicket with Bismallah Khan (36).
During his 167-ball stay at the crease, Hussain, the only batsman in the innings to consume 100 or more deliveries in the innings, scored 89 runs, hitting 10 fours.
He too was removed by Umaid, who dismissed four of the top five Balochistan batsmen. The lanky pacer returned five for 57 – his ninth five-fer in first-class cricket.
Right-arm medium-fast Mohammad Irfan jnr and leg-break Zahid Mahmood took two wickets each for 53 and 57 runs.
With Balochistan 207 runs behind, Southern Punjab captain Sami Aslam enforced the follow-on.
Umaid stretched his wicket-taking form into Balochistan’s second innings and sent opener Awais Zia (five) back into the pavilion with only five runs on the board. The batting side lost their second wicket after 22 runs when Irfan accounted for the wicket of Imran (five).
Azeem (11) and nightwatchman Jalat Khan (two) batted at the close of play as Balochistan trailed by 177 runs.
After accumulating maximum batting points yesterday, Southern Punjab bagged three bowling points for picking nine or more wickets in 110 overs. Balochistan managed two points for passing the 250-run mark.
Third day of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh called-off
In Abbottabad, no ball was bowled on day three of the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh as play had to be called-off due to rain.
Scores in brief:
Southern Punjab v Balochistan
Southern Punjab 502 all-out, 129.3 overs (Sami Aslam 168, Umar Siddique 130, Adnan Akmal 80, Abdul Rehman Muzamil 41, Sohaib Maqsood 36, Mohammad Irfan 23; Mohammad Asghar 5-130; Amad Butt 4-103)
Balochistan 295 all-out, overs 79.3 overs (Hussain Talat 89, Imran Farhat 65, Bismillah Khan 36, Amad Butt 32, Imran Butt 23; Umaid 5-57, Mohammad Irfan jnr 2-53, Zahid Mahmood 2-57) and after follow-on 30-2, 15 overs (Azeem Ghumman 11 not out; Umaid Asif 1-3, Mohammad Irfan jnr 1-11)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 288 all-out, 106 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 88, Rehan Afridi 57 not out, Sajid Khan 39, Israrullah 36, Zohaib Khan 28; Sohail Khan 4-62, Hassan Khan 2-37, Mir Hamza 2-65)
Sindh 147-3, 36 overs (Omair Bin Yousaf 56, Saud Shakeel 35 not out, Fawad Alam 29 not out; Junaid Khan 2-49)
