KARACHI: A defiant century from Mohammad Saleem enabled Faisalabad force a draw against Rawalpindi in opening triangular match of the PCB Inter-region Under-19 (Three-day) Cricket Tournament in Mirpur on Thursday.

Resuming at 122-1 on the third and final of play at the Mirpur Cricket Stadium after being asked to follow on by Rawalpindi skipper Umair Masood on Wednesday, Faisalabad survived another 75 overs to reach 266-7 from 12 overs the game was called off with Rawalpindi taking first-innings points for their lead of 157 runs.

Opener Abdul Samad could add just four runs to his overnight before being dismissed by paceman Mohammad Haroon for 89. His 146-ball knock, lasting 169 minutes, contained 13 boundaries while his second-wicket with Saleem was worth 125.

Haroon further jolted Faisalabad by sending back rival side’s skipper Shahid Khan and Ali Raza off the next two deliveries to complete a hat-trick.

But Saleem held firm to covert his overnight score of 32 into an excellent 100 from 228 balls in a marathon stay of 447 minutes while striking 11 fours and one six.

The right-handed Saleem found useful partners in Hafiz M. Rehman and Saad Mahmood. With Hafiz (30 off 90 balls, three fours) Saleem put on 69 for the fifth wicket in 127 minutes before Saad (32 off 86, five boundaries) arrived to add 50 for the seventh wicket in 98 minutes.

Haroon ended up with figures of 3-24 in 18 overs, while fellow paceman Mohammad Waqar claimed two for 55 from 22 overs to return match bag of 6-92. Holders Karachi Whites, winners of the one-day title, will get into action from Saturday when they take on Faisalabad in the second fixture of triangular phase.

Scores and result on Thursday (final day of three):

RAWALPINDI 280-7 in 83 overs (Nasir Nawaz 119 not out, Usman Haider 68, Hasnain Ahmed 43; Asad Raza 6-96) drew with FAISALABAD 123 in 48.3 overs (Mohammad Mishal Khan 33, Abdul Samad 31, Mujtaba Hasan 22; Ibrar Zaman 5-44, Mohammad Waqar 4-37) and 266-7 in 112 overs (Mohammad Saleem 100 not out, Abdul Samad 89, Saad Mahmood 32, Hafiz M. Rehman 30; Mohammad Haroon 3-24, Mohammad Waqar 2-55).

Published in Dawn, October 21st, 2016