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KARACHI: Test discard Mohammad Sami produced a hostile burst of pace bowling to put Karachi Blues in sight of victory against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) on the penultimate day of the four-day Faysal Bank Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship Division I match at the National Stadium here on Friday.
The Blues skipper rattled the ZTBL batsmen with sheer pace on a pitch that had considerably eased out by taking 4-31 in another reminder to the selectors that he still can add to his 35 Test caps if given another chance to redeem an otherwise chequered international career. Sami also was responsible for forcing Inam-ul-Haq to retire hurt with a painful blow to his arm with an awkward lifting delivery.
ZTBL, asked to bat again after making only 192 in their first-innings, reached 174-6 and need a further 34 runs to avert an innings defeat. Zohaib Khan (62) and Inam, who returned after the dismissal of Sohail Tanvir, remain their last hopes.
Imran Nazir, the ZTBL captain, made 54 after demoting himself to No 5 from his usual opening berth. He was involved in a 103-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Zohaib.
Earlier, Sohail Tanvir struck some meaty blows in scoring 73 off 108 balls with the aid of 12 fours and one six. Paceman Sohail Khan took 4-70.
Sialkot took a small lead of 17 runs on the first innings by totalling 358 against State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) at the Jinnah Stadium with skipper Mansoor Amjad making 91. The bankers reached 53-1 in their second innings.
Wapda bounced back in style to put themselves on winning track against Faisalabad at the Sports Stadium in Sargodha. Having conceded a first-innings lead of 84, Wapda bowlers, led by medium-pacer Mohammad Imran Khan’s 5-37, dismissed Faisalabad for 174 in the second innings.
Needing 259, Wapda went to stumps at 205-3 with Aamir Sajjad (53) and skipper Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (57) adding 103 in the unbroken fourth-wicket stand.
PIA obtained a handy lead of 124 runs on the first innings after bowling out Rawalpindi for 224 at the Rawalpindi Stadium. The national carrier extended that lead to 309 by going to stumps to 185-2 in the second innings.
Abbottabad set reigning champions HBL a challenging fourth-innings chase of 367 at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. The bankers safely negotiated 10 overs to score 43 without loss.
Earlier, Test leg-spinner Danish Kaneria captured 5-106 as the home side made 250 in their second innings.
Islamabad were frustrated by NBP who put up a dogged batting display that saw them score 305-9 in the second innings at the Diamond Club Ground. Resuming at 108-2, Islamabad added 197 to their total with Umair Khan contributing 79 and Zeeshan Mushtaq 50.
The regional team leads by 292 runs going into Saturday’s final day.
Close of play scores on Friday (day three of four): At National Stadium, Karachi: KARACHI BLUES 400 in 125.2 overs (Shahzaib Hasan 144, Javed Mansoor 107, Mohammad Sami 48; Mohammad Khalil 6-101); ZTBL 192 in 56.2 overs (Sohail Tanvir 73,
Faisal Athar 43; Sohail Khan 4-70, Tariq Haroon 3-52, Mohammad Sami 2-47) and 174-6 in 59 overs (Zohaib Khan 62 not out, Imran Nazir 54; Mohammad Sami 4-31).
At Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium: PIA 348 in 119.4 overs (Fahad Iqbal 136, Shoaib Khan 70; Babar Naeem 3-64, Mohammad Rameez 3-92, Nasir Malik 3-97) and 185-2 in 51 overs (Kamran Sajid 63, Shaharyar Ghani 58 not out); RAWALPINDI 224 in 54.1 overs (Jamal Anwar 60, Babar Naeem 58; Ali Imran Pasha 5-54).
At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: STATE BANK 341 in 104.3 overs (Rameez Aziz 121, Gulraiz Sadaf 70; Prince Abbas 5-106, Mohammad Abbas 3-66) and 53-1 in 17 overs; SIALKOT 358 in 122.5 overs (Mansoor Amjad 91, Hafiz Majid Jahangir 83, Mohammad Yasin 72; Waqas Ahmed 5-86, Rizwan Haider 3-66).
At Sports Stadium, Sargodha: FAISALABAD 217 in 67 overs (Naved Latif 59 not out; Kashif Raza 3-50, M. Imran Khan 3-62) and 174 in 63 overs (M. Imran Khan 5-37, Zulfiqar Babar 3-44); WAPDA 133 in 52.3 overs (Ahmed Said 40; Abdur Rauf 3-40) and 2-5-3 in 49 overs (Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 57 not out, Aamir Sajjad 53 not out).
At Abbottabad Cricket Stadium: ABBOTTABAD 272 in 88 overs (Rameez Ahmed 107, Raja Nadeem 91; Sarmad Anwar 5-57, Kamran Hussain 4-52) and 250 in 80 overs (Riaz Kail 58 not out, Rameez Ahmed 58, Fawad Khan 48; Danish Kaneria 5-106, Kamran Hussain 3-59); HABIB BANK 156 in 62.2 overs (Hasan Raza 61, Khaqan Arsal 46; Ikramullah Khan 5-53, Mohammad Naeem 3-45) and 43-0 in 10 overs.
At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: ISLAMABAD 198 in 64.5 overs (Wasim Khan 3-69) and 305-9 in 115 overs (Umair Khan 79, Zeeshan Mushtaq 50; Uzair-ul-Haq 4-98, Raza Hasan 3-60); NATIONAL BANK 211 in 66.5 overs (Aqeel Anjum 80 not out, Kamran Akmal 38; Nasrullah 5-53).
