KARACHI, Dec 16 Sialkot strengthened their grip against Karachi Blues after taking a 100-run lead on the first innings on the second day of the RBS Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship Group 'B' fixture at the National Stadium here on Wednesday.

Replying to the outgoing champions' 316, the Blues struggled to reach 216 in their last match before taking on Habib Bank in the final at the same venue from Monday.

Pacemen Prince Abbas and Faisal Rasheed reduced the hosts to 114-7 after an opening stand of 54 between Shahzeb Hasan (34) and Karachi Blues skipper Khalid Latif (22).

Asad Shafiq, easily the leading run-getter for the Blues, batted with composure to top-score with 85. The talented right-hander, who struck 14 boundaries in his 145-ball innings, took his aggregate in the championship to 981 runs.

Prince Abbas finished with figures of 4-36 in 21.1 overs, Faisal claimed 3-100 in 21 overs while, slow left-armer Nayyar Abbas took 2-19 including the prized wicket of Asad.

Sialkot further consolidated their position by reaching 97-1 in the second innings to hold an overall lead of 197 runs.

Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC), bidding to stave off relegation in Group 'A', gained a crucial 40-run lead after dismissing Karachi Whites for 253 in their first innings at the Southend Club Cricket Stadium. But SSGC then lost four wickets in making 63 runs in their second innings.

Our Sports Reporter adds from Lahore Former international Kamran Hussain returned career-best figures of 7-25 as Habib Bank fought back against Lahore Shalimar in the Group 'A' match at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Defending a paltry first-innings total of 141, the bankers bowled out Lahore Shalimar for 149 thanks to Kamran's left-arm pace bowling. Opener Abid Ali fell to former Test paceman Shahid Nazir without adding to his overnight score of 52.

Lahore Shalimar hit back through their strike bowler Mohammad Naved as Habib Bank closed the second day's play at 186-9. Naved has so far captured six for 82.

Lahore Ravi put themselves in a commanding position against Group 'B' rivals Islamabad at the LCCA Ground. After piling up 448 with opener Kashif Siddique (112 off 194 balls, 16 fours and one six), Sohail Ahmed (103 off 188 balls, 13 boundaries) and Asim Naz (71) the main scorers, Lahore Ravi had the visitors from the federal capital tottering at 140-9.

Ex-international Junaid Zia led from the front. The Ravi skipper bowled superbly to take 6-48 in 16 overs.

Scores on Wednesday (day two of four)

Group 'A'

At Southend Club Cricket Stadium, Karachi SSGC 293 in 74.4 overs (Rizwan Ahmed 115, Saeed bin Nasir 74; Ali Mudassar 3-49, Tabish Khan 3-74) and 63-4 in 18 overs; KARACHI WHITES 253 in 69 overs (Afsar Nawaz 61, Naved Khan 44, Tabish Khan 37; Adnan Malik 3-30, Sohail Khan 3-86).

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore HABIB BANK 141 in 37.1 overs (Kamran Hussain 54, Irfan Fazil 38; Hasan Dar 7-53, Mohammad Naved 3-38) and 186-9 in 42 overs (Mohammad Naved 6-82); LAHORE SHALIMAR 149 in 53.1 overs (Abid Ali 52; Kamran Hussain 7-25).

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad SNGPL 259 in 75.1 overs (Usman Arshad 105; Mohammad Talha 3-67) and 19-0 in 6 overs; NATIONAL BANK 202 in 69 overs (Nasir Jamshed 55, Mansoor Amjad 53 not out, Rashid Riaz 41; Yasir Shah 6-40).

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi PAKISTAN CUSTOMS 197 in 56.2 overs (Jibran Khan 69; Akhtar Ayub 3-42) and 121-9 in 36 overs (Aamir Yamin 36; Mohammad Irfan 3-20, Jaffar Nazir 3-27); KRL 176 in 59.5 overs (Zeeshan Nasir 5-58).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad PIA 273 in 88 overs (Yasir Hameed 85, Tahir Khan 48, Fahad Iqbal 36; Zohaib Khan 3-39, Kashif Dawood 3-76); ZTBL 251-4 in 56 overs (Inam-ul-Haq 81, Shahid Yousuf 58, Imran Nazir 48 not out).

Group 'B'

At National Stadium, Karachi SIALKOT 316 in 79.5 overs (Kamran Younis 107, Adnan Butt 41, Hafiz Majid Jahangir 38; Tanvir Ahmed 4-102, Tariq Haroon 3-88) and 97-1 in 18 overs (Kamran Younis 42); KARACHI BLUES 216 in 63.1 overs (Asad Shafiq 85; Prince Abbas 4-36, Faisal Rasheed 3-100).

At Municipal Sports Complex, Mirpurkhas QUETTA 280 in 83.3 overs (Jalat Khan 78, Ata-ur-Rehman 74; Kashif Bhatti 3-49, Mir Ali Talpur 3-49, Naeem-ur-Rehman 3-83); HYDERABAD 268-7 in 80 overs (Hanif-ur-Rehman 123, Aqeel Anjum 54; Arun Lal 4-30).

At Multan Cricket Stadium MULTAN 108 in 47 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 36; Mohammad Rameez 8-46); RAWALPINDI 325-8 in 108 overs (Babar Naeem 101, Naved Malik 57, Yasim Murtaza 51 not out, Rashid Latif 41; Tahir Maqsood 3-101).

At LCCA Ground, Lahore LAHORE RAVI 448 in 106 overs (Kashif Siddique 112, Sohail Ahmed 103, Asim Naz 71; Kamran Hussain 5-101, Nasrullah Khan 3-113); ISLAMABAD 140-9 in 32.3 overs (Junaid Zia 6-48).

At Sports Stadium, Sargodha ABBOTTABAD 339 in 110.4 overs (Waqar Orakzai 74, Ehteshamuddin 48, Fawad Khan 48, Mohammad Kashif 43; Zahoor Khan 5-83); FAISALABAD 173-4 in 57 overs (Ammar Mahmood 55, Zeeshan Asif 45 not out).