KARACHI: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be eyeing victory against Southern Punjab on the final day of their Quaid-i-Azam Trophy second-round match, with the defending champions leading by 207 runs with three wickets in hand by the close of the day’s play on Wednesday.

In what has turned out to be the round’s most exciting fixture — as compared to the more batting-dominated ones between Northern and Sindh and Central Punjab and Balochistan — Khyber Pakhtunkhwa bounced back to dismiss Southern Punjab for 308 after putting up 240 in the first innings.

The Khalid Usman-led side then scored 275, losing only three wickets, after starting the day at 4-1. They were helped by a 75-run knock by first-innings centurion Waqar Ahmed before experienced batters Sahibzada Farhan (83) and Kamran Ghulam consolidated Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s position.

Kamran, playing at 41, will walk in to bat on a crucial fourth day with tailender Sajid Khan at the Abbotabad Cricket Stadium. For Southern Punjab, Pakistan Test pacer Hasan Ali and spinner Ali Usman took three wickets each.

Northern, who kicked off their Trophy campaign with a win over Southern Punjab, responded to Sindh’s 457-8 (decl.) by posting 363-6 by the end of the third day as Faizan Riaz (106 not out) and captain Umar Amin (105) hit centuries at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium.

After resuming the third day at 129-2, Umar added 85 runs for the third wicket with Faizan, who has put on 71 runs for the unbroken seventh wicket with skipper Nauman Ali (36 not out). For Sindh, spinner Mohammad Asghar bagged Umar to finish the day with figures of 3-109.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Southern Punjab match was heading for an exciting finish after Khyber Pakhtunkhwa led by 207 runs with seven wickets standing.

At the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Central Punjab commenced their first innings at 417-4 in reply to Balochistan’s 185 with Tayyab Tahir on 118 not out and Qasim Akram batting on 59.

Tayyab was dismissed after scoring 137, while Qasim was unfortunate to have missed his maiden first-class century when he fell to Amad Butt at 92.

Scores in brief:

Balochistan trail by 213 runs

BALOCHISTAN 185 in 47.2 overs (Hussain Talat 43, Asad Shafiq 34; Ahmed Daniyal 3-41, Mohammad Ali 3-49) and 137-1 (Imam-ul-Haq 72 not out, Imran Butt 53); CENTRAL PUNJAB 535-6 (decl.) in 143.3 overs (Tayyab Tahir 137, Azhar Ali 107; Hussain Talat 2-75, Akif Javed 2-116)

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lead by 207 runs

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 240 in 69.2 overs (Waqar Ahmed 134 not out, Sahibzada Farhan 44; Mohammad Ilyas 4-76) and 275-7 (Sahibzada Farhan 83, Waqar Ahmed 75, Kamran Ghulam 41 not out; Hasan Ali 3-67, Ali Usman 3-82); SOUTHERN PUNJAB 308 in 91.2 overs (Umar Siddiq 112, Salman Ali Agha 64; Ihsanullah 3-45, Arshadullah 2-73)

Northern trail by 94 runs

SINDH 457-8 (decl.) in 138.5 overs (Saud Shakeel 158, Sarfaraz Ahmed 70 not out; Mubasir Khan 4-140); NORTHERN 363-6 in 127 overs (Faizan Riaz 106 not out, Umar Amin 105; Mohammad Asghar 3-109) .

Published in Dawn, October 6th, 2022