ABBOTTABAD: Peshawar moved closer to a place in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final as they defeat Lahore Whites by 125 runs in their triangular stage match here at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.

Lahore, while chasing a 257-run target, were bowled out for 131 in only 23.3 overs with star spinner Sajid Khan claiming his fourth first-class ten-wicket haul for Peshawar.

Lahore’s captain Saad Nasim offered some resistance with the bat as he scored 56 runs off 62 deliveries, an innings laced with eight fours and one six.

Pacers Niaz Khan (3-24) and Mir Hamza (2-38) shared five wickets before Sajid (5-43) took just 6.3 overs to wrap up the victory.

Peshawar resumed the day when they were tottering at 14-3 and were dismissed for 141 after batting for 40 overs.

Middle order batter Nabi Gul performed exceptionally well with the bat scoring 83 runs while facing 138 balls. Nabi smashed 12 fours in his match-winning knock.

Pakistan’s star pacer Naseem Shah, playing his first match of this edition of the tournament, took two wickets for Lahore while his brother Ubaid Shah also claimed two scalps.

Mohammad Salman, though, had more success with the ball than his fellow pacer as he removed three batters while giving away only 31 runs while Ahmed Bashir also bagged two wickets.

Peshawar’s first innings lead of 115 runs came in handy as they managed to set a sizable target.

The third and last match of the triangular stage will be played from Dec 27-30 between Lahore Whites and Sialkot.

Sialkot sit on top of the triangular stage points table with 27 points while Peshawar are second with 25. Lahore Whites, with one match left, have four points but still have a chance to make the final.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2024