KARACHI, Nov 1: A magnificent eighth-wicket partnership of 181 between Saeed bin Nasir and Gulraiz Sadaf put Balochistan in commanding position against defending champions Sindh on the second day of the RBS Pentangular Cup match at the National Stadium here on Saturday.

Thanks to the heroics of Saeed (89) and Gulraiz (84), Balochistan made a grand recovery after losing the first seven wickets for 150 runs in reply to Sindh’s paltry first-innings tally of 126. The visitors eventually gained a substantial lead of 236 when their innings ended at 362.

When play was curtailed because of fading light with 5.2 overs still remaining, openers Khurram Manzoor (1) and Khalid Latif (16) survived the opening burst from Abdur Rauf and Kamran Hussain to help Sindh reach 24 without loss in their second innings.

Resuming at 91 for four, Balochistan made steady progress until they lost Usman Tariq, Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Hussain within the space of 10 runs.

Usman, who was 40 not out overnight, was smartly held off his own bowling by Shahid Afridi soon after reaching a sedate half-century that was compiled in almost five hours. Usman’s 182-ball 50 included six fours.

Skipper Misbah, meanwhile, contributed a solid 38 off 73 balls, spiced with four boundaries, until he tried to cut Afridi but only succeeded in edging a catch to wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Fast bowler Sohail Khan then trapped Kamran for three to bring back Sindh right into the match. But that was the last breakthrough Sindh celebrated as Saeed, one of the most consistent performers in the past couple of domestic seasons, and Gulraiz changed the entire complexion of the game.

Saeed, sadly overlooked by both Pakistan and Karachi selectors, took the attack to the bowlers as if he had a point to prove to those who had done great injustice to his credentials.

The 29-year-old right-handed Saeed lifted Afridi and Fawad Alam for sixes apart from striking nine fours during a brilliant counter-attack. He batted like a man possessed in front of chairman of the national selection committee Saleem Jaffer.

Gulraiz also did not lag behind. The 19-year-old promising wicket-keeper/batsman struck 13 boundaries in his 154-ball knock before the partnership, lasting 243 minutes, was finally terminated by Sohail, who won a leg-before-wicket verdict against Gulraiz.Saeed perished 11 short of a richly deserved century when he was run out while attempting a risky single. Tailender Mohammad Irshad scored an invaluable 22 before providing Afridi with his fourth wicket.

Sohail Khan also finished with four wickets while Tanvir Ahmed, by far the best bowler on view, was very unlucky not to claim more than one wicket.

Scoreboard

SINDH (1st Innings) 126 (Naumanullah 47; Azharullah 4-32).

BALOCHISTAN (1st Innings, overnight 91-4):

Shoaib Khan Jr c Khurram b Tanvir 25

Usman Tariq c and b Afridi 50

Saeed Anwar Jr c Sarfraz b Afridi 24

Abdur Rauf b Sohail 0

Rameez Alam c Sarfraz b Sohail 0

Misbah-ul-Haq c Sarfraz b Afridi 38

Saeed bin Nasir run out 89

Kamran Hussain lbw b Sohail 3

Gulraiz Sadaf lbw b Sohail 84

Mohammad Irshad c Fawad b Afridi 22

Azharullah not out 1

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-10, NB-12) 2

TOTAL (all out, 119.5 overs) 362

FALL OF WKTS: 1-29, 2-88, 3-89, 4-91, 5-140, 6-147, 7-150, 8-331, 9-344.

BOWLING: Anwar Ali 31-13-58-0; Sohail Khan 26-7-66-4; Tanvir Ahmed 29-10-68-1 (3nb); Shahid Afridi 27.5-3-113-4; Rizwan Ahmed 4-0-30-0 (9nb); Fawad Alam 2-0-13-0.

SINDH (2nd Innings):

Khurram Manzoor not out 1

Khalid Latif not out 18

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-1) 5

TOTAL (for no wkt, 7.4 overs) 24

BOWLING (to-date): Abdur Rauf 4-3-3-0; Kamran Hussain 3.4-0-16-0.