Naeem and Babar put Rawalpindi in control
LAHORE, Feb 19: Fiery bowling by pacer Naeem Akhtar and an unbeaten century by opener Babar Naeem push Rawalpindi on brink of a big win against Lahore Blues in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade I match at Gaddafi Stadium Tuesday.
Naeem Akhtar’s lethal bowling earned him six for 53 runs in 13.5 overs to help Rawalpindi earn a 130-run lead by bowling out Lahore Blues for a paltry first innings total of 102 in only 26.5 overs against the visitors total of 232.
By close of play, Babar Naeem, the top-scorer of the first innings with 62, further consolidated Rawalpindi’s position by scoring 149 off 180 balls with 16 boundaries and three sixes off 180 balls. Rawalpindi saw off the day at 263 for three, extending the overall lead to 393 with seven wickets intact.
RAWALPINDI (1st innings) 232 (Babar Naeem 62).
LAHORE BLUES (1st Innings):
Imran Nazir Jr b Naeem 11
Imran Farhat b Zahid 0
Kazim Ali c Naseer b Naeem 27
Salim Shahzad c Naseer b Naeem 11
Hafiz Yawar lbw b Zahid 4
Amjad Ali c sub b Naeem 0
Mohammad Hussain c Naseer b Naeem 18
Humayun Farhat c sub Yasir 14
Sajid Ali lbw b Naeem 1
Mudassar Mahboob c Zahid b Yasir 5
Irfan Sohail not out 1
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-2,NB-4) 10
TOTAL (all out, 26.5 overs) 102
FALL OF WKTS: 1-4, 2-45, 3-50, 4-55, 5-59, 6-62, 7-88, 8-93, 9-98.
BOWLING: Naeem Akhtar 13.5-3-53-6; Mohammad Zahid 8-1-28-2; Yasir Arafat 5-2-15-2.
RAWALPINDI (2nd Innings):
Saqib Najeeb c Amjad b Kazim 32
Babar Naeem not out 149
Naseer Ahmed b Humayun 42
Shiraz Khalid c sub b Imran 14
Naveed Ashraf not out 15
EXTRAS (B-5, LB-3, W-2, NB-1) 11
TOTAL (for three wkts, 59 overs) 263
FALL OF WKTS: 1-62, 2-158, 3-211.
BOWLING (to-date): Sajid Ali 9-1-38-0; Mudassar Mahboob 5-0-25-0; Mohammad Hussain 5-1-24-0; Kazim Ali 4-0-19-1; Imran Farhat 13-1-61-1; Irfan Sohail 5-0-26-0; Humayun Farhat 16-2-58-1; Hafiz Yawar 2-0-4-0.