Karachi, 26 August 2022: Sindh Blues bowlers dominated the second day of their National U19 Championship final against Sindh Whites as the former closed the day with a mammoth 356 lead.
Afnan Khan and Naveed Ahmed Khan shared six wickets between them equally and Aftab Ibrahim accounted for two batters as Whites were bowled out for a paltry 136 in 60.1 overs at the UBL Sports Complex on Friday after Blues had posted 363 for nine on day one.
Somewhat notable performances from the bat came from opener Ali Ishaq and Daniyal Ahmed, who scored 26 each, while Noman Ali, with 23 off 53, was the other batter to score in 20s.
While Blues would be hoping to go for the kill and seal the match, even if Whites pull off a comeback of epic proportions and take this game towards a draw, Blues would be declared the tournament’s winners on the basis of the first innings lead.
Blues openers Habibullah, who scored a century in the first innings, and Saad Baig stitched a 50-run stand as the former scored 24 and the latter made 29.
When stumps were called, Arbaz Khan and captain Wahaj Riaz, who made a half-century in the first innings, batted at 33 and 31 with 129 on board and seven wickets in hand.
With the run rate hovering around 4.3, the two would build on the solid foundation and accumulate as many runs as possible before the Whites are inserted to chase when the action resumes on Saturday.
Scores in brief:
Sindh Blues 363-9, 81.2 overs (Habibullah 130, Wahaj Riaz 72, Saad Baig 36, Aftab Ibrahim 29, Haroon Arshad 24, Afnan Khan 22, Ali Hasan 21; Syed Tayyab Hussain 5-85, Daniyal Ahmed 2-40, Haseeb-ur-Rehman 2-147) and 129-3, 30 overs (Arbaz Khan 33 not out, Wahaj Riaz 31 not out, Saad Baig 29, Habibullah 24)
Sindh Whites 136 all out, 60.1 overs (Ali Ishaq 26, Daniyal Ahmed 26, Noman Ali 23; Afnan Khan 3-21, Naveed Ahmed Khan 3-22, Aftab Ibrahim 2-45)
