Lahore, 28 September 2019: Zulfiqar Babar’s four wickets in second innings and eight wickets in the match overall for Southern Punjab was the highlight of the third and final day’s play of round three of the three-day non-first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches on Saturday.
At Hayatabad Sports Complex in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, after resuming their second innings on 33 for three, were dismissed for 212 in 72 overs against Southern Punjab.
Asad Afridi top-scored with 74, while Khushdil Shah scored 34.
Zulfiqar Babar was the pick of the bowlers for Southern Punjab taking four for 65. The veteran left-arm spinner ended the match with figures of eight for 166. Muhammad Imran also chipped in with three second innings wickets.
In return, chasing 211 runs to win the match, Southern Punjab in their second innings could score only 74 for the loss of three wickets in 15 overs, before the match ended in a draw.
Mukhtar Ahmed scored a 60-ball 50 laced with six fours and a six. Asif Afridi took all three wickets for 22 runs.
At Lahore’s LCCA Ground, Balochistan against Central Punjab, resuming their second innings at three for no loss, were 72 for five in 30.5 overs, when rain interrupted the game and no further play took place.
Usama Razzaq scored 25, while Aizaz Cheema and Mohammad Ali took two wickets apiece for Central Punjab.
At NBP Stadium in Karachi, the entire day's play was lost between Sindh and Northern due to wet outfield following the heavy rain that lashed the city on Friday.
Earlier, in the second day, only 16.1 overs were bowled.
The match was declared as no result, as Northern was yet to bat in the match.
At the conclusion of third round, Southern Punjab continues to lead the points table with 12 points with one win in three matches.
Northern is placed at second spot with seven points. Central Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are placed at third, fourth and fifth position with six, four and three points, respectively.
Meanwhile, Balochistan are still placed sixth with no points.
Scores in brief:
Central Punjab v Balochistan, LCCA, Lahore
Balochistan 335-9, 83 overs (Akbar-ur-Rehman 107 not out, Awais Zia 100, Taimur Ali 43; Aizaz Cheema 4-50) and 72-5, 30.5 overs (Usama Razzaq 25, Akbar-ur-Rehman 20 not out; Aizaz Cheema 2-19, Mohammad Ali 2-30)
Central Punjab 349 all out, 83 overs (Ali Zaryab 107, Muhammad Iklaq 83, Irfan Niazi 78 not out; Jalat Khan 7-120)
Result: match drawn
Southern Punjab v Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Hayatabad Sports Complex, Peshawar
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 346 all out, 80.3 overs (Khushdil Shah 120, Mehran Ibrahim 113; Zulfiqar Babar 4-101, Salman Ali Agha 3-97) and 212 all out, 72 overs (Asad Afridi 74, Khushdil Shah 34; Zulfiqar Babar 4-65, Muhammad Imran 3-31, Attah Ullah 2-41)
Southern Punjab 348-6, 83 overs (Zain Abbas 88, Agha Salman 58, Muhammad Imran 57 not out, Muhammad Umair 48, Zeeshan Ashraf 47; Ahmed Jamal 3-59) and 74-3, 15 overs (Mukhtar Ahmed 50, Asif Afridi 3-22)
Result: match drawn
Sindh v Northern, NBP Stadium, Karachi
Sindh 238-8, 73 overs (Mohammad Waqas Jr 54, Rameez Raja jr 35, Saad Khan 35; Naved Malik 2-6, Salman Irshad 2-34, Usama Mir 2-66) v Northern
Result: No result
Fourth round fixtures (2-4 October):
Sindh v Southern Punjab; Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Central Punjab; Hayatabad sport complex, Peshawar
Balochistan v Northern; Mirpur Stadium, Mirpur
