KARACHI Karachi Blues were poised for substantial first-innings lead after reducing Multan to 220-8 on the second day of the RBS Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship Group 'B' match at the National Stadium here on Wednesday.
Multan, in fact, would have been in dire straits had Naved Yasin not scored an unbeaten 107 - the left-hander's fourth first-class century - after Karachi Blues were dismissed for 377 earlier in the day.
Resuming at 291-8, the Blues' tail wagged merrily as Atif Maqbool hit a career-best 45 and fellow spinner Azam Hussain remained undefeated with 48. Slow left-armer Zulfiqar Babar took both wickets to fall on Wednesday to finish with 4-73 in 26.2 overs.
Multan, in reply, were rocked by a hostile burst of pace bowling from the impressive Tanvir Ahmed who ripped out the first three batsmen before Naved Yasin and skipper Kashif Naveed (36) added 71 for the fifth wicket.Naved has so far batted for 269 minutes for hit 17 boundaries in his 162-ball knock.
Habib Bank gained a lead of 90 runs after dismissing ZTBL for 167 in their first innings of the Group 'A' clash at the Marghzar Ground in Islamabad despite a career-best 6-94 by ZTBL's paceman Kashif Dawood. However, ZTBL hit back as Habib Bank closed at 32-2 in their second innings.
KRL's dismal season continued at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi where current Group 'A' leaders SNGPL piled up 285-9 in reply to the hosts' 198. Opener Naeemuddin was the mainstay with 93 (143 balls, 14 fours).
Rawalpindi, meanwhile, were forced to follow on after Peshawar bundled out for 81 in the Group 'B' fixture at the National Ground in Islamabad. New-ball bowler Riaz Afridi, one of Pakistan's countless one-Test wonders, captured 6-31 as Rawalpindi were sent packing inside 26 overs.
However, Rawalpindi fared much better in the second innings to reach 198-3 at stumps with Usman Saeed scoring 79. Rawalpindi, who have notched up three straight wins prior to this round, are now in front by just 16 runs.
Ashar Zaidi scored 129 (174 balls, 25 fours) to help hosts Islamabad amass 485 against Faisalabad who were 63-1 in reply at the Diamond Club Ground.
Our Sports Reporter adds from Lahore PIA's hopes of gaining a decisive first-innings lead were dented by Wapda who fought back dramatically to bowl out the national carrier for 193 with pacers Sarfraz Ahmed and Azharullah sharing all the wickets.
Resuming at 51-1 in reply to Wapda's 138, PIA nosedived to 133-6 before skipper Sarfraz Ahmed (46 off 73 balls with five boundaries) and Janisar Khan (19) revived the innings with stand of 50.
The lanky Sarfraz took 5-40 in 25.4 overs while Azharullah grabbed 5-68 in 19 overs. Wapda now have a lead of 12 runs after closing at 65-0 in the second innings.
Left-handers Nasir Jamshed and Umar Amin hit sparkling centuries while sharing a first-wicket stand of 236 to put National Bank in a commanding position against Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
Pakistan discard Nasir made 108 (226 balls, 13 fours) and Umar struck an undefeated 139 (240 balls, 16 fours and one six) as the bankers went to stumps at 274-2 in reply to SSGC's 182.
Lahore Ravi captain Kashif Siddique struck an unbeaten 70 (110 balls, 12 fours) to help his side reach 101-2 after Hyderabad made 379 in their first innings at the LCCA Ground.
Defending champions Sialkot, inspired by Kamran Younis' maiden century, were holding first-innings lead of 66 runs after recovering magnificently to total 279-5 at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot.
Replying to Quetta's 213, the home team was in deep trouble at 104-5. But Kamran (147 off 199 balls with 20 fours) and Ahmed Butt, who also reached his highest score of 76 (112 balls, seven boundaries) came together to add 175 for the unbroken sixth-wicket partnership.
Pakistan Customs, who are battling to avoid relegation, took a big 181-run lead by making 295-9 in response to Lahore Shalimar's 114 at the Lahore Country Club in Muridke.
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