MOHAMMAD Taha
Paceman Farjad Yar Khan was the main wicket0taker with 4-43 in nine overs with Ameer (2-46 in eight) and slow left-armer Afnan Khan (2-42 in nine) giving good support.
But Zone-IV frittered a solid foundation provided by Ameer (50 off 62 balls, seven fours and one six) and Hashir Ansari (29) — who together added 45 for the first wicket — as they capitulated for 151 all out at the start of the 38th over.
Zone-IV’s tormentor was leg-spinner Umair Shaikh, who snared five wickets for 22 runs in 10 overs after making an unbeaten 23 earlier on. Slow left-armer Adeel Meo picked up two for 16.
Zone-II, meanwhile, continued their resurgence after starting the competition with back-to-back losses in their opening two matches as they cruised to their second success when they beat Zone-III by 112 runs at the TMC Ground.
Put into bat by Syed Ali Nasim, Zone-II rode on contrasting half-centuries from opener Hamza Ali Khan (50 off 34 balls, nine fours and one six) and all-rounder Hasan Jafri (57 off 90, seven boundaries) to post 237 all out in 49.4 overs.
Leg-spinner Rumman Ali (4-35 in 10 overs) and slow let-armer Uzair Akbar (3-33 in 7.4) shared the bowling honours before Zone-III crashed to 125 all out in 44 overs.
Leg-spinner Talha Ahsan bowled exceedingly well to grab 2-11 in 10 overs with captain Haider Razzaq (2-18) and Hasan (2-11) also chipping in with a brace apiece.
Monday results:
Fourth round:
At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: Zone-VI beat Zone-VII by 150 runs.
ZONE-VI 335-6 in 50 overs (Saim Ayub 155 not out, Mohammad Taha 105, Khawaja Mohammad Nafay 46; Saad Bin Yousuf 3-60, Basit Khan 3-76); ZONE-VII 185-6 in 50 overs (Huzaifa Munir 63, Ghazi Ghauri 32, Kashif Khan 27, Aoun Abbas 23; Fareed Ahmed 2-17, Sajid-ur-Rehman 2-42).
At TMC Ground, Karachi: Zone-II beat Zone-III by 112 runs.
ZONE-II 237 in 49.4 overs (Hasan Jafri 57, Hama Ali Khan 50, Syed Aryan Ali 35; Rumman Ali 4-35, Uzair Akbar 3-33); ZONE-III 125 in 44 overs (Umar Zeeshan Lohya 31, Haris Bin Tahir 24; Talha Ahsan 2-11, Hasan Jafri 2-11, Haider Razzaq 2-18).
At Landhi Gymkhana Ground, Karachi: Zone-I beat Zone-IV by 88 runs.
ZONE-I 239-9 in 50 overs (Abdullah F. Rehman 64, Mohammad Raza 51, Umair Shaikh 23 not out, Amjad Aslam 23; Farjad Yar Khan 4-43, Afnan Khan 2-42, Ameer Sultan 2-46); ZONE-IV 151 in 37.1 overs (Ameer Sultan 50, Hashir Ansari 29, Saifullah 22 not out; Umair Shaikh 5-22, Adeel Meo 2-16).
Wednesday fixtures: Zone-I vs Zone-VI (UBL Sports Complex, Karachi); Zone-IV vs Zone-VII (TMC Ground, Karachi); Zone-II vs Zone-V (Landhi Gymkhana Ground, Karachi).
Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2019