KARACHI: Zain Abbas’ century for Southern Punjab went in vain as Northern inched closer to victory, becoming the first team to enforce a follow-on on the third day of the opening round of matches of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy on Thursday.

Pakistan Test batter Fawad Alam smashed his 42nd first-class hundred for Sindh against Central Punjab, while Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Kamran Ghulam scored a ton against Balochistan.

Southern Punjab were trailing by 117 runs with eight wickets in hand in their second innings by the close of play after being bowled out for 269 in reply to Northern’s mammoth first innings score of 529-5 (decl.) at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium Zain’s 120 off 229, was the only fighting knock for Southern Punjab before he succumbed to Pakistan Test spinner Nauman Ali, who bagged 4-73. Pacer Musa Khan and spinner Mehran Mumtaz also picked up two wickets apiece.

Zain failed to make an impact after Southern Punjab were asked to bat for the second time, this time falling to all-rounder Mubasir Khan, whose unbeaten 170 helped Northern to their huge first innings score. Zain’s partner Umar Siddiq was also dismissed by the off-spinner.

When Usman Salahuddin (40 not out) and Imran Rafiq (34 not out) come out to bat on Friday, they would be looking to launch a rescue effort.

Northern, after bowling out Southern Punjab inside 100 overs, have now accumulated nine points (five points for crossing the 400-run barrier in 100 overs batting first, three for taking eight or more wickets and one for bowling out an opposition under 300).

At the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, Fawad returned unbeaten on 127 as Sindh responded to Central Punjab’s 428 with a first-innings score of 268.

While Fawad smashed 14 fours in his 186-ball knock, former Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed scored a 124-ball 78 before being undone by pacer Mohammad Ali, who was Central Punjab’s best bowler, registering figures of 4-84.

Central Punjab extended their lead to 230, with first innings double-centurion, Pakistan Test opener Abdullah Shafique unbeaten at 72 ahead of the final day. With the side playing at 170-4, Abdullah will be partnered by Tayyab Tahir (61 not out), when they continue on Friday.

Balochistan added four more points to make it eight after bowling out Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for 291 in 85.4 overs at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.

Kamran, undefeated overnight, scored 102 off 171 and Khalid Usman, the Khyber Pakht­unkhwa captain, made 43 off 87. Balochistan’s Khurram Shahzad picked up 4-67.

Balochistan had an imposing lead of 289 as they closed the day at 107-4.

Scores in brief:

Southern Punjab trail by 117 runs against Northern

NORTHERN 529-5 (decl.) in 133 overs (Mubasir Khan 170 not out, Abdul Faseeh 151; Hassan Khan 3-94, Ali Usman 2-143); SOUTHERN PUNJAB 269 in 86.2 overs (Zain Abbas 120, Salman Ali Agha 36,; Nauman Ali 4-73, Musa Khan 2-51) and 143-2 in 45 overs (Usman Salahuddin 40 not out, Umar Siddiq 35; Mubasir Khan 2-40)

Central Punjab lead by 230 runs against Sindh

CENTRAL PUNJAB 428 in 102.2 overs (Abdullah Shafique 232, Aamer Yamin 70; Mir Hamza 3-72, Asif Mehmood 3-128) and 170-4 in 62 overs (Abdullah Shafique 72 not out, Tayyab Tahir 61 not out: Asif Mehmood 3-31); SINDH 368 in 85.5 overs (Fawad Alam 127 not out, Sarfaraz Ahmed 78, Saim Ayub 71; Mohammad Ali 4-84, Aamer Yamin 3-80)

Balochistan lead by 289 runs against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

BALOCHISTAN 473 in 123 overs (Azeem Ghumman 78, Kashif Bhatti 71; Arshad Iqbal 4-114, Mohammad Sarwar Afrid 2-55, Ihsanullah 2-104) and 107-4 in 38 overs (Azeem Ghumman 28, Hussain Talat 27; Arshad Iqbal 2-19); KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 291 in 85.4 overs (Kamran Ghulam 102, Khalid Usman 43; Khurram Shahzad 4-67, Kashif Bhatti 2-43).

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2022