KARACHI Karachi Blues have virtually sealed their berth in the RBS Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship final after annihilating Hyderabad by an innings and 259 runs on the penultimate day of the Group 'B' match in Mirpurkhas on Saturday.
Pacemen Mohammad Sami and Tanvir Ahmed scalped two more wickets apiece to finish with figures of 5-56 and 5-60, respectively as Hyderabad were bundled inside 29 overs for 123 in reply to the Blues' huge total of 552-7 declared.
Sami, the Blues skipper, wasted no time in enforcing the follow on which resulted in Hyderabad being dismissed for 170. Slow left-armer Azam Hussain grabbed 4-60 while Tanvir took 3-54 to finish with match haul of 8-114.
The Blues' sixth win in eight outings have earned 57 points with their closest rivals and reigning champions Sialkot (currently on 39 points) and Rawalpindi (36) both struggling to close the widening gap with only more round of matches left in the championship.
Karachi Whites, meanwhile, staged a great fightback in their Group 'A' match against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) through an inspired spell of pace bowling from Tabish Khan. The gangling speedster, who turns 25 on Dec 12, struggled to claim just one wicket for 98 runs in 23 overs on Friday when ZTBL reached 332-4 here at the UBL Sports Complex.
But on the third morning Tabish turned in a magnificent performance as he sliced through the remainder of ZTBL's first innings by taking all six wickets to fall, including the last four in four balls; the victims on consecutive deliveries were Rao Iftikhar, Mohammad Khalil, Rehan Raees and Azhar Attari. Tabish's final figures were 7-122 in 33.2 overs
ZTBL were eventually dismissed for 397 after gaining a healthy lead of 165. However, Karachi Whites fared much better in second turn at the crease as they closed at 209-3 with Fazal Subhan (60) and Atif Ali Zaidi (45) adding 115 in the unbroken fourth-wicket stand.
Habib Bank were on course for victory after reaching 43 without loss in pursuit of a modest target of 153 against Pakistan Customs in Islamabad. Customs were all out for 234 in the second innings with 21-year-old paceman Sarmad Anwar claiming a career-best 7-33.
Hafiz Asad Baig (96) and Rameez Aziz (64) were the main run-getters for Customs.
Our Sports Reporter adds from Lahore Despite gallant batting from skipper Ali Raza and opener Abid Ali, Lahore Shalimar failed to avoid the follow on against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) in their Group 'A' match at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Replying to KRL's 502-7 declared, Lahore Shalimar were all out for 316 with Abid making a patient 91 off 249 balls with 12 fours and Ali Raza 98 (147 balls, 16 boundaries). Paceman Jaffar Nazir, who got rid of Abid, finished with 5-95.
Lahore Shalimar were 10-1 in their second innings at draw of stumps.
Wapda made a strong response to Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC)'s 466 by reaching 300-1 at the Sheikhupura Stadium in a match now destined to end in a draw. Riffatullah Mohmand (135 off 248 balls, 11 fours) and Aamir Sajjad (112 off 173 balls, 13 fours) have so far put on 224 for the second wicket.
PIA were heading for victory after reducing Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) stumbled to 107-5 in their second innings in Gujranwala.
Earlier, PIA obtained a first-innings lead of 63 despite a late order collapse which resulted in the last eight wickets falling for the addition of only 83 runs. Skipper Yasir Hameed, who resumed at 130, finally departed after scoring 180 off 197 balls. The former Test opener's knock featured 23 fours and one six.
Paceman Imran Ali was the pick of SNGPL's bowlers with 6-87.
Hosts Sialkot conceded a first-innings lead of 99 runs after making 302 against Islamabad who then reached 145-7 in the second innings.
Multan were on verge of handing Peshawar a big defeat as the visitors crashed to 147-5 after facing a massive 331-run deficit on the first innings at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
The hosts declared at 538-6 after resuming at 291-3. Naved Yasin struck 154 (231 balls, 22 fours) while Rameez Alam scored his maiden double century as he made an unbeaten 222 off 362 balls with the help of 18 fours and one six.
Lahore Ravi hit back to leave Abbottabad in deep trouble at 103-7 in the second innings of their match in Muridke. The Ravians were earlier bowled out for 259 in reply to Abbottabad's first-innings tally of 283.
The Faisalabad-Rawalpindi match was poised for a close finish in Faisalabad. The home team, despite taking a handsome lead of 142, was in tatters at 69-5 in the second innings.
Scores and result on Saturday (day three of four)
Group 'A'
At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi KARACHI WHITES 232 in 75.1 overs (Murtaza Majeed 60, Afsar Nawaz 50, Atif Ali Zaidi 36; Rao Iftikhar 5-44) and 209-3 in 60 overs (Fazal Subhan 60 not out, Atif Ali Zaidi 45 not out, Mohtashim Ali 42); ZTBL 397 in 108.2 overs (Zohaib Khan 143, Shahid Yousuf 104, Imran Nazir 54; Tabish Khan 7-121).
At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore KRL 502-7 declared in 115.4 overs (Saeed Anwar Jr 126, Mohammad Wasim 123, Zahoor Elahi 61 not out, Yasir Ali 61, Bazid Khan 46; Saadullah Khan 3-111); LAHORE SHALIMAR 316 in 102 overs (Ali Raza 98, Abid Ali 91; Jaffar Nazir 5-95, Yasir Ali 3-48) and 10-1 in 7 overs.
At Sheikhupura Stadium SSGC 466 in 148 overs (Saeed bin Nasir 129, Shahzad Butt 88, Wajid Ali 66, Rizwan Ahmed 48, Ahmed Zeeshan Malik 35; Azharullah 4-134); WAPDA 300-1 in 81 overs (Riffatullah Mohmand 135 not out, Aamir Sajjad 112 not out).
At Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala SNGPL 265 in 80.5 overs (Ali Waqas 95 not out, Mohammad Hafeez 57, Adnan Akmal 41; Anwar Ali 4-87, Ali Imran Pasha 3-65) and 107-5 in 35 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 74 not out); PIA 328 in 79.4 overs (Yasir Hameed 180, Agha Sabir 73; Imran Ali 6-87).
At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad PAKISTAN CUSTOMS 238 in 72 overs (Yasir Hussain 74, Rameez Aziz 61; Irfan Fazil 4-48, Abdul Rehman 3-86) and 234 in 60.4 overs (Hafiz Asad Baig 96, Rameez Aziz 64; Sarmad Anwar 7-33, Abdul Rehman 3-57); HABIB BANK 320 in 67 overs (Humayun Farhat 156, Aslam Qureshi 40; Ahmed Jamal 4-93).
Group 'B'
At Municipal Sports Complex, Mirpurkhas Karachi Blues beat Hyderabad by innings and 259 runs.
KARACHI BLUES 552-7 declared in 145 overs (Asad Shafiq 145, Wajihuddin 142, Asim Kamal 81, Tariq Haroon 46 not out, Mirza Adnan Baig 41, Khalid Latif 39; Lal Kumar 3-96); HYDERABAD 123 in 29 overs (Mohammad Sami 5-56, Tanvir Ahmed 5-60) and 170 in 46.2 overs (Nasrullah Memon 44; Azam Hussain 4-60, Tariq Haroon 3-32, Tanvir Ahmed 3-54).
At Multan Cricket Stadium PESHAWAR 217 in 79.3 overs (Fawad Ali 71, Azam Jan 48; Tahir Maqsood 5-76) and 147-5 in 31 overs (Israrullah 53, Fawad Ali 53; MULTAN 538-6 declared in 130.1 overs (Rameez Alam 222 not out, Naved Yasin 154; Imran Khan 3-85).
At Lahore Country Club Ground, Muridke ABBOTTABAD 283 in 91.4 overs (Ghulam Mohammad 72, Adnan Raees 64, Fawad Khan 59; Aamir Hayat 6-77, Mohammad Irshad 3-50) and 103-7 in 32 overs (Aamir Hayat 4-39); LAHORE RAVI 259 in 87.1 overs (Sohail Ahmed 72, Saadullah Ghauri 41, Junaid Zia 39; Fawad Ahmed 3-24).
At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad FAISALABAD 333 in 117 overs (Imran Ali 73, Zeeshan Asif 71, Usama Sharoon 54, Mohammad Salman 47 not out; Sadaf Hussain 4-83, Mohammad Rameez 3-95) and 69-5 in 30 overs; RAWALPINDI 191 in 79.5 overs (Usman Saeed 80 not out; Ijaz Ahmed Jr 3-38, Zahoor Khan 3-52).
At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot ISLAMABAD 401 in 97.4 overs (Ashar Zaidi 202, Naeem Anjum 77, Raheel Majeed 38; Naved Arif 5-109, Prince Abbas 3-107) and 145-7 in 44 overs (Ameer Khan 56; Faisal Rasheed 3-40); SIALKOT 302 in 65.5 overs (Faisal Khan 69, Ahmed Butt 66, Nayyar Abbas 57; Nasrullah Khan 3-78).
