Saeed guides Balochistan to honourable draw
Saeed stroked 119 — his 15th first-class century — on the final day of the four-day fixture as Balochistan staved off defeat by reaching 330 in their second innings after following-on.
Punjab, badly needing a victory to stay in contention for a place in the final, then made a mad scramble to chase down a target of 76 in 11 overs. But they lost five wickets for 17 runs in 3.3 overs when the match came to an end because of poor light at 4:17pm.
Asad Ali and Kamran Hussain cashed in on the reckless approach of the Punjab batsmen by sharing the spoils. Mohammad Hafeez made his intentions clear from the onset by lifting Kamran for a six.
Mohammad Salman, who was promoted up the order, was the first to go when Asad had the wicket-keeper/batsman caught by Saeed Anwar Jr for two.
Punjab then lost four wickets for no run. Umar Akmal fell to Kamran for one; Hafeez was bowled by the same bowler for 10 before Asad sent back Ayub Dogar and Azhar Ali on consecutive deliveries for ducks.
But the day belonged to Saeed bin Nasir, who yet again reminded the national selectors of his talent as a genuine middle-order batting candidate. The only time he ever came close to be picked for Pakistan was in 2003 when he was included in the squad for the first two Tests against Bangladesh, but failed to break into the final XI.
The right-hander, who turns 29 on Dec 19, was seventh out after occupying the crease for 203 minutes. Having come to the crease with Balochistan — 255 runs behind on the first innings — in dire straits at 67 for four, Saeed and Kamran revived the innings with a seventh-wicket stand of 106 in 102 minutes.
Kamran, an all-rounder who bowls left-arm seamers and bats right-handed, made 52 off 87 balls with the help of eight boundaries until he was caught in the gully off pacer Mohammad Talha.
Wicket-keeper Gulraiz Sadaf (48 off 65 balls, six fours and one six) then joined his skipper in another crucial partnership. The two added 69 for the eighth wicket before Saeed departed, caught at long-off off slow left-armer Abdur Rehman. His splendid 150-ball knock contained 16 fours and two sixes.
With the NWFP already having qualified for the Nov 24-28 final at the same venue after winning their all three matches thus far, the race for the other berth is still wide open with Balochistan (nine points), Federal Areas (six) and Punjab (three) all in the hunt.
In the final round of league matches, starting from Tuesday, Balochistan and Federal Areas clash in Islamabad while Punjab have the formidable NWFP to confront with in their own backyard.
Scoreboard
PUNJAB (1st Innings) 526-8 declared (Adnan Raza 113, Ayub Dogar 117, Azhar Ali 104, Khurram Shahzad 93 not out).
BALOCHISTAN (1st Innings) 271 (Bilal Khilji 70; Abdur Rehman 4-85).
BALOCHISTAN (2nd innings, overnight 42-2):
Shoaib Khan lbw b Hafeez 20
Usman Tariq lbw b Hafeez 20
Bilal Khilji c Khurram b Wahab 13
Zulfiqar Babar c Salman b Talha 0
Saeed Anwar Jr lbw b Hafeez 22
Saeed bin Nasir c sub b Rehman 119
Rameez Alam c Salman b Imran 9
Kamran Hussain c Umar b Talha 52
Gulraiz Sadaf c and b Wahab 48
Asad Ali c Ayub b Imran 6
Azharullah not out 1
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-10, NB-6) 20
TOTAL (all out, 84.4 overs) 330
FALL OF WKTS: 1-41, 2-42, 3-45, 4-67, 5-112, 6-123, 7-229, 8-298, 9-317.
BOWLING: Imran Ali 12.4-1-52-2; Mohammad Talha 20-3-89-2 (4nb); Mohammad Hafeez 19-4-67-3; Abdur Rehman 20-1-63-1; Wahab Riaz 13-1-45-2.
PUNJAB (2nd Innings):
Mohammad Hafeez b Kamran 13
Mohammad Salman c Saeed Jr b Asad 2
Umar Akmal c Shoaib b Kamran 1
Ayub Dogar c Saeed Jr b Asad 0
Azhar Ali c Gulraiz b Asad 0
Khurram Shahzad not out 0
Adnan Raza not out 0
EXTRAS (NB-1) 1
TOTAL (for five wkts, 3.3 overs) 17
FALL OF WKTS: 1-10, 2-17, 3-17, 4-17, 5-17.
BOWLING: Kamran Hussain 2-0-16-2 (1nb); Asad Ali 1.3-0-1-3.
RESULT: Match drawn.
UMPIRES: Riazuddin and Iqbal Butt.
MATCH REFEREE: Abdul Sami Khan.