LAHORE: Mubasir Khan’s fighting half-century and Umar Waheed’s stubborn knock helped Northern draw against Central Punjab who could not record their first victory while the match between Balochistan and Southern Punjab also ended in a stalemate in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy as the eighth round concluded on Friday.

Central Punjab’s Tayyab Tahir (100) began the day on 58 and went on to score his fourth century of the season to help his team post 221-7 before they declared the innings and set a 274-run target for Northern at the LCCA Ground.

Central Punjab seemed on course to victory when Northern lost a flurry of wickets at the start of the innings but the 20-year-old Mubasir stepped up and steered his team to a hard-earned draw by holding his end strongly and knitting crucial partnerships. His team-mate Umar (31) made an important contribution.

Northern’s Aamir Jamal and captain Nauman Ali took three wickets each.

Northern remain on top of the points table following the draw with 122 points.

Meanwhile, Balochistan’s Abdul Wahid Bangalzai missed out on his century by three runs as he was trapped lbw by spinner Agha Salman at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Wahid smashed 14 fours and a six and crafted a solid partnership with Hussain Talat (53).

Balochistan were 213 for four in 50 overs when stumps were drawn.

Earlier, Southern Punjab were bowled out for 350 after beginning the day on 270 for six.

Usman Salahuddin (135) added 33 runs to his overnight score before he was dismissed by Bilawal Iqbal, who took two wickets. Taj Wali was the pick of the bowlers for Balochistan with 3-57 while Khurram Shahzad and Hussain Talat also claimed two wickets apiece.

Summarised scores:

Match drawn between Central Punjab and Northern in Lahore.

CENTRAL PUNJAB 385 in 94 overs (Abdullah Shafique 155, Faheem Ashraf 109 not out; Musa Khan 4-100, Aamir Jamal 3-68) and 221-7 declared in 42 overs (Tayyab Tahir 100, Mohammad Saad 61; Aamir Jamal 3-60, Nauman Ali 3-68); NORTHERN 333 in 96.2 overs (Mohammad Huraira 114, Umar Waheed 96; Zafar Gohar 6-96, Bilal Asif 2-70) and 166-5 in 58.2 overs (Mubasir Khan 58 not out)

Match drawn between Balochistan and Southern Punjab in Abbottabad.

SOUTHERN PUNJAB 350 in 89.4 overs (Usman Salahuddin 135, Hassan Khan 84; Taj Wali 3-57, Khurram Shahzad 2-23); BALOCHISTAN 213-4 in 50 overs (Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 97, Hussain Talat 53 not out; Mohammad Ilyas 2-43)

Match abandoned between Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2022