KARACHI: A fine century by Maqbool Ahmed helped Multan take a commanding 206-run lead on the first innings against Bahawalpur on day two of their Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-II Cricket Tournament fixture in Multan on Sunday.

Replying to Bahawalpur’s meagre total of 135, Multan were struggling at 88-4 when stumps were drawn at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Saturday’s opening day of the competition.

Maqbool engineered the recovery as the wicket-keeper/batsman struck 106 from 156 deliveries with the aid of 17 boundaries and one six. Veteran Saeed Anwar Jr hit 94 with his 149-ball innings laced with 11 fours and one six.

Hyderabad, inspired by 94 apiece from Kashif Bhatti and Shoaib Leghari, ended up only 41 runs behind Karachi Blues’ 398-9 at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad. The visitors then lost three wickets for 43 runs in their second innings.

Close of play scores on Sunday (day two of three):

First round:

Pool ‘A’:

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: BAHAWALPUR 135 in 55.4 overs (Mohammad Imran Sr 50; Sadaif Mehdi 4-39, Ahsan Baig 3-33) and 104-2 in 35 overs (Mudassar Nazir Ahmed 40, Mohammad Wasim 34); MULTAN 341-8 in 83 overs (Maqbool Ahmed 106, Saeed Anwar Jr 94, Zia-ul-Haq 58, Ali Hasnain 34; Mohammad Imran Sr 3-66).

At Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur: ABBOTTABAD 287 in 68.3 overs (Imran Shah 114, Sajjad Ali Jr 50; Daniyal Allah Ditta 4-57, Azhar Mahmood 4-73) and 193-1 in 42 overs (Sajjad Ali Sr 102, Imran Shah 72 not out); AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 196 in 64.1 overs (Sardar Hasan Raza 66, Usman Maroof 59; Kamran Ghulam 5-33, Junaid Khan 3-58).

Pool ‘B’:

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: KARACHI BLUES 398-9 in 83 overs (Jaahid Ali 106, Rameez Raja 106, Asad Shafiq 49, Hasan Mohsin 37, Ali Asad 34, Saifullah Khan Bangash 30 not out; Kashif Bhatti 5-158, Nauman Ali 4-140) and 43-3 in 14 overs; HYDERABAD 357 in 82.4 overs (Shoaib Leghari 94, Kashif Bhatti 94, Saad Khan 71, Mohammad Suleman 32; Mohammad Asghar 5-116, Mohammad Umar 3-89).

At TMC Ground, Karachi: DERA MURAD JAMALI 161 in 64.4 overs (Sanaullah 55; Ali Asghar 7-59) and 83-4 in 40 overs; LARKANA 211-9 in 83 overs (Faraz Aziz 69 not out, Mohsin Raza 38; Zahoor Ahmed 5-29).

At Dring Stadium, Bhawalpur :193-1 in 42 overs (Sajjad Ali Sr 102, 106 balls, 14x4s, Imran Shah 72 not out, 124 balls, 6x4s)

Overnight: AJK Region (First Innings) 77-1 in 19 overs

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: Hyderabad 357-10 in 82.4 overs: (Shoaib Leghari 94, 123 balls, 14x4s, Kashif Bhatti 94, 94 balls, 8x4s, 4x6s, Saad Khan 71, 107 balls, 10x4s, Muhammad Suleman 32, 69 balls, 4x4s, Rizwan Ahmed 22, 34 balls, 3x4s, 1x6, Muhammad Asghar 5-116, Muhammad Umar 3-89)

Overnight: Hyderabad Region (First Innings) 26-1 in 10 overs

TMC GROUND, KARACHI: D.M. Jamali Region (First Innings) 161-10 in 64.4 overs (Sanaullah 55, 148 balls, 7x4s, Nasir Khan 24, 69 balls, 1x4, Ali Asghar 7-59, Shahnawaz Dhani 2-26)

LARKANA REGION (First Innings) 211-9 in 83 overs:(Faraz Aziz 69*, 127 balls, 6x4s, 1x6, Mohsin Raza 38, 172 balls, 5x4s, Zafar Ali 27, 47 balls, 4x4s, Muhammad Urs 27, 65 balls, 4x4s, Zahoor Ahmed 5-29, Rasool Baksh 2-59)

Overnight: Larkana Region (First Innings) 77-4 in 29 overs.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2018