Bureau Report
Karachi: Mohammad Saad (30*) and Qasim Akram (23*) finished off in style as Central Punjab won their second consecutive match in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2020 after defeating table-toppers Northern by 6 wickets.
Set to chase 166 runs, CP were off to a good start with a 43-runs opening partnership between Ali Zaryab (31) and Mohammad Akhlaq (13) but a couple of quick wickets put the batting side under pressure.
Saad and Saad Nasim scored 50 runs together to lift CP chasing a paltry total. Qasim made 23 runs to make a worthy contribution for CP. Nauman Ali once again bowled well for Northern and picked up four wickets for 69 runs. Resuming Day 3 at 77-2 with a lead of 86 runs, Northern were bowled out for 156 runs. Nasir Nawaz scored 42 runs while Hammad Azam and Nauman Ali made 22 runs each. Ahmed Safi bagged four wickets while skipper Hassan Ali took three wickets. Bilawal Iqbal took two scalps.
At State Bank Ground, Kamran Ghulam (166) and Rehan Afridi (87) drove Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) to a composing total of 414-10 which took 185 runs-lead for them. Fakhar Zaman contributed 62 runs to KPK’s towering total.
Sindh’s Tabish Khan and Mir Hamza took three wickets each while Shahnawaz Dhani bagged two wickets.
In reply to the 185-runs lead, Sindh closed Day 3 at 120-5 with still 65 runs behind. Sharjeel Khan scored yet another half-century to help Sindh put a strong start. The left-handed batsman made 51 runs off 61 balls with the help of four boundaries and three sixes. Saud Shakeel remained not out for 50 off 70 balls while Hasan Mohsin will accompany him tomorrow, resuming his inning at 2 off 26. Sajid Khan bagged three wickets while Mohammad Wasim and Khalid Usman took a wicket each.
On the other hand at National Stadium, Aamir Yamin bagged two wickets to help Southern Punjab (SP) reduce Balochistan to 112-2 after they were set to chase 405 runs. Imran Farhat (63*) and Akbar-ur-Rehman (29*) rescued Balochistan at the twilight phase of the day. Earlier, Imran Rafique (97), Said Badar (53), and Mohammad Umair (59) led SP to add 312 runs in their 92-runs lead. For Balochistan, Jalat Khan bagged five wickets while Umaid Asif took three wickets.
