KARACHI: Young opener Mohammad Huraira hit a century to help Northern respond fittingly to Central Punjab’s dominant batting show in their Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match at Lahore’s LCCA Ground on Wednesday.

After Pakistan Test all-rounder Faheem Ashraf had also smashed a ton to boost Central Punjab to a first-innings total of 385 on the third day of the eighth-round fixture, Huraira was equally up to the task, guiding Northern to 194-3 by stumps.

Faheem hit 20 fours to accumulate 109 runs in 137 balls and stayed unbeaten as Northern pacer Musa Khan finished the innings with four wickets.

Huraira, 20, then struck 15 boundaries to reach 104 not out off 156 balls by the close of play, with Umar Waheed on the other end, playing at 42.

Central Punjab spinner Bilal Asif took two wickets while Zafar Gohar claimed one victim.

There was no play between Balochistan and Southern Punjab for the second straight day due to rain in Abbotabad.

Meanwhile the other eighth-round fixture — between Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa — hasn’t yet started, reportedly due to unrest in Rawalpindi and Islamabad.

Summarised scores:

Northern trail by 191 runs against Central Punjab

CENTRAL PUNJAB 385 in 94 overs (Abdullah Shafique 155, Faheem Ashraf 109 not out; Musa Khan 4-100, Aamir Jamal 3-68); NORTHERN 194-3 in 52.4 overs (Mohammad Huraira 104 not out, Umar Waheed 42 not out; Bilal Asif 2-53).

Published in Dawn, November 10th, 2022