QEA 2011-12

KARACHI: Karachi Blues staged a good comeback on Saturday in their Faysal Bank Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship Division I match against Sialkot with Shahzaib Hasan’s aggressive display guiding them to 121 for no loss in the second innings at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot.

After being dismissed for 166 on Friday before the hosts replied wit 98-0, Karachi Blues had a much better second day. Sialkot stumbled after Mohammad Yasin (81) and Naved Sarwar (36) put on 116 for the opening stand and were bowled out for 249 with only Ayub Dogar (67) making a significant score.

The wickets were shared by discarded Test pacemen Mohammad Sami (4-66) and Tanvir Ahmed (4-104).

It was then left to Shahzaib to blast 11 fours and one six in his undefeated 72 from 76 deliveries. Hafiz Asad Baig proved a good foil for his partner by making a 73-ball 42.

PIA earned a narrow eight-run lead on the first innings by making 186 in reply to current leaders Wapda’s 178 at the Marghazar Cricket Ground in Islamabad with Fahad Iqbal (62) and wicket-keeper Anop Ravi (47) adding 86 for the sixth wicket. Another Pakistan reject Faisal Iqbal on Friday reached a notable milestone as he crossed the 9,000-run landmark in first-class cricket during his knock of 25.

Ex-Pakistan paceman and Wapda captain Rana Naved-ul-Hasan captured 5-51 in 17 overs. But the power men then ran into further trouble as they went to stumps at 169-7 to lead by 161 runs. Abbottabad closed in on their first win after a run of five straight losses as they reduced Faisalabad to 42-4 in the second innings at the Gohati Cricket Stadium. Earlier, Abbottabad obtained a massive 237-run lead by making 311 in their first innings.

State Bank, helped by half-centuries from Rameez Raja (79) and Rameez Aziz (51 not out), were 237-6 in reply to National Bank’s 282 at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

ZTBL pressed home their advantage against champions Habib Bank by reaching 119-1 in the second innings at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium to enjoy an overall lead of 164. Earlier, Habib Bank managed a disappointing 156 in response to ZTBL’s first-innings total of 201.

Islamabad were heading for their first victory after forcing Rawalpindi to follow on at the Diamond Club Ground. Replying to Islamabad’s 289, the Pindi team collapsed for 119 in 29.2 overs before reaching 100-3 in the second innings.

Close of play scores on Saturday (day two of four):

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: NATIONAL BANK 282 in 75.5 overs (Kamran Akmal 71, Aqeel Anjum 68, Nasir Jamshed 38, Khurram Manzoor 33; Rizwan Haider 3-42, Saad Altaf 3-96, Kashif Siddique 2-20); STATE BANK 237-6 in 77 overs (Rameez Raja 79, Rameez Aziz 51 not out, Gulraiz Sadaf 34; Uzair-ul-Haq 3-31, Mohammad Talha 2-51).

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: KARACHI BLUES 166 in 43.5 overs (Mohammad Sami 48, Mohammad Wajihuddin 31; Mohammad Imran 5-40, Prince Abbas 4-68) and 121-0 in 24.3 overs (Shahzaib Hasan 72 not out, Hafiz Asad Baig 42 not out); SIALKOT 249 in 73.4 overs (Mohammad Yasin 81, M. Ayub Dogar 67, Naved Sarwar 36; Mohammad Sami 4-66, Tanvir Ahmed 4-104, Azam Hussain 2-27).

At Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: ZTBL 201 in 56.1 overs (Yasir Hameed 40; Sarmad Anwar 6-52, Sajid Shah 2-20) and 119-1 in 26 overs (Yasir Hameed 44 not out, Sharjeel Khan 43 not out); HABIB BANK 156 in 49.5 overs (Ahmed Shahzad 42, Aftab Khan 33; Rehan Riaz 3-23, Junaid Nadir 3-46, Rao Iftikhar 2-37, Mohammad Khalil 2-42).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: ISLAMABAD 289 in 99.3 overs (Afaq Raheem 89, Naeem Anjum 55; Rashid Latif 6-84, Nasir Malik 2-93); RAWALPINDI 119 in 29.2 overs (Awais Zia 37, Zahid Mansoor 37; Nasrullah Khan 4-35, Zohaib Ahmed 3-27, Fakhir Hussain 3-55) and 100-3 in 27 overs (Adnan Mufti 56 not out; Fakhir Hussain 3-28).

At Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad: WAPDA 178 in 45.1 overs (Aamir Sajjad 69, Zulfiqar Babar 31; Anwar Ali 4-47, Ali Imran Pasha 2-36) and 169-7 in 52 overs (Asif Khan 49; Ali Imran Pasha 3-42, Najaf Shah 2-34); PIA 186 in 47.1 overs (Fahad Iqbal 62, Anop Ravi 47, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 5-51, Nawaz Sardar 2-18).

At Gohati Cricket Stadium, Swabi: FAISALABAD 74 in 41.2 overs (Ahmed Jamal 6-25, Khalid Usman 3-8) and 42-4 in 18 overs (Mohammad Naeem 3-18); ABBOTTABAD 311 in 90 overs (Riaz Kail 67, Rameez Ahmed 56, Mohammad Naeem Sr 44; Aqeel Ahmed 4-87, Waqas Maqsood 4-111, Shoaib Shah 2-33).