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Lahore, 10 October 2022: Faizan Riaz did one better than the previous innings as he put Northern in a commanding position against Balochistan on the second day of the third round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium in Abbottabad.
34-year-old Faizan, who had scored 119 in his only innings in the second round match against Sindh, scored an unconquered 201 after starting the day at 100 in Northern’s overnight score of 347 for three. Faizan’s over six hours of batting during which he faced 216 balls and hit 27 fours and a six, meant Northern were able to declare their first innings at 520 for eight.
When play ended, Balochistan were tottering at 108 for four with Haris Sohail (26) and Hussain Hussain (9) at the crease. Captain Asad Shafiq scored 53 before becoming one of the two victims of Kashif Ali (two for 35).
Balochistan had something to cheer on Monday when their 31-year-old fast bowler Taj Wali completed a five-wicket haul for the 19th time in his 71-match career. Taj, who yesterday had figures of three for 60, finished with figures of 23-2-91-5.
AFT Southern Punjab fast bowler Mohammad Ilyas recorded figures of 15-5-50-5, Ahmed Bashir picked up three for 31 and Mohammad Abbas snapped up two for 41 to send Sindh tumbling out for 181 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. Sindh were replying to AFT Southern Punjab’s 278, who managed to add 19 runs to their overnight score of 259 for seven.
Mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed picked up two of the last three AFT Southern Punjab wickets to finish with impressive figures of 37.3-10-94-5, third time the 23-year-old had taken a five-fer in his eight-match career.
Sindh’s Muhammad Umar (59), Saad Khan (36) and Fawad Alam (32) offered some resistance against Ilyas, Ahmed and Abbas as the three ATF Southern Punjab bowlers fully exploited conditions that suited fast bowlers.
AFT Southern Punjab now lead Sindh by 174 runs with seven second innings wickets intact.
Early afternoon rain spoilt what was shaping into an exciting contest at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
Central Punjab, resuming their first innings at 24 for no loss in reply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 220, were 173 for four when rain forced an early closure to the day’s play. Abid Ali top-scored with 66, while Abdullah Shafique scored 51.
For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khalid Usman took three for 52.
Scores in brief (3rd round, day 2 of 4)
Toss uncontested – Sindh decided to field v AFT Southern Punjab at Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
AFT Southern Punjab (overnight 259-7) 278 all out, 94.3 overs (Usman Salahuddin 89, Umar Siddiq 47, Ali Usman 42, Mohammad Ilyas 39; Abrar Ahmed 5-94, Muhammad Umar 2-51, Mir Hamza 2-58) and 77-3, 20 overs (Zain Abbas 48 not out; Ghulam Mudassar 2-17)
Sindh 181 all out, 50.2 overs (Muhammad Umar 59, Saad Khan 36, Fawad Alam 32; Mohammad Ilyas 5-50, Ahmed Bashir 3-31, Mohammad Abbas 2-41)
First innings points – AFT Southern Punjab 8 (2 batting points, 3 bowling, extra bowling bonus points 3); Sindh 4 (3 bowling points, extra bowling bonus point 1)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa won the toss and elected to bat v Central Punjab at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 220 all out, 77.4 overs (Waqar Ahmed 58, Sahibzada Farhan 44, Nabi Gul 40; Usama Mir 6-91, Ahmed Daniyal 3-33)
Central Punjab (overnight 24-0) 173-4, 65 overs (Abid Ali 66, Abdullah Shafique 51, Ali Shan 22; Khalid Usman 3-52)
First innings points (to date) – Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2 (1 batting point, 1 bowling point); Central Punjab 5 (3 bowling points, 2 extra bowling bonus points)
Toss uncontested –Balochistan decided to field v Northern at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad
Northern (1st innings) (overnight 347-3) 520-8d, 116 overs (Faizan Riaz 201 not out, Mohammad Huraira 169, Sarmad Bhatti 39, Abdul Faseeh 34, Umar Amin 22; Taj Wali 5-91, Akif Javed 3-146)
Balochistan 108-4, 34.4 overs (Asad Shafiq 53, Haris Sohail 26 not out; Kashif Ali 2-35)
First innings points (to date) – Northern 6 (5 batting points, 1 bowling point); Balochistan 1 (1 bowling point)
