Zulfiqar dazzles in Multan’s victory over Bahawalpur
KARACHI: Experienced Pakistan spinner Zulfiqar Babar grabbed an 11-wicket haul to help Multan defeat Bahawalpur by 168 runs in their second-round fixture of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-II Cricket Tournament in Bahawalpur matches on Friday.
Bahawalpur, who were set an improbable target of 361 on the third and final day of play at the Dring Stadium, folded up for 192 in their second innings with left-armer Zulfiqar picking up five wickets for 61 runs, giving the 37-year-old match figures of 110.
Earlier, talented opener Zain Abbas scored his second century of the match before Multan declared their second innings at 215-1. The young left-hander followed up his 185 in the first innings with an even 100 while sharing an unbroken second-wicket partnership of 175 with skipper Saeed Anwar, who finished making 102.
The remaining match between Abbottabad and Azad Jammu Kashmir saw no play throughout the final day at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad because of rain.
Meanwhile, both Karachi Blues and Sialkot sealed innings victories in less than two days against Quetta and Dera Murad Jamali, respectively on Thursday.
The next round of fixtures will begin on Sunday with Karachi Blues in action against Larkana at the Multan Cricket Stadium and Bahawalpur hosting Quetta at the Dring Stadium in the other Group ‘A’ game. The Group ‘B’ matches will see Abbottabad playing Dera Murad Jamali at the Sports Stadium in Sargodha and Azad Jammu Kashmir visiting Faisalabad to take on Faisalabad at the Iqbal Stadium.
Scores and results on Friday (final day of three):
Group ‘A’:
At Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur: Multan bt Bahawalpur by 168 runs.
MULTAN 365-5 declared in 81 overs (Zain Abbas 185 not out, Saeed Anwar Jr 110, Ammar Ali 43; Muzammil Tehsin 2-93, Imranullah Aslam 2-99) and 215-1 declared in 36 overs (Saeed Anwar Jr 102 not out, Zain Abbas 100 not out); BAHAWALPUR 230 in 73.4 overs (Zeeshan-ul-Haq 61, Rafay Ahmed 47, Mohammad Wasim 31; Zulfiqar Babar 6-49) and 192 in 50.1 overs (Imranullah Aslam 47, Mohammad Wasim 27; Zulfiqar Babar 5-61).
Group ‘B’:
At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: Match drawn (no play on day three due to rain).
AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 110 in 49.2 overs (Mohammad Fahad 26; Ikramullah Khan 4-23, Fakhar Zaman 3-7, Ahmed Jamal 2-24) and 160-4 in 59 overs (Hasan Raza Jr 84 not out; Fazle Rabbi 2-29, Ikramullah Khan 2-45) ABBOTTABAD 292 in 63.2 overs (Riaz Kail 59, Khalilullah 59, Fawad Malook 51, Ikramullah Khan 28, Sajjad Ali 26; Shadab Majeed 3-74, Abdul Shakoor 3-84, Fahad Arif 2-59).
Published in Dawn, March 12th, 2016