By By Alam Zeb Safi
After getting a first innings lead of 181 runs, Multan Region, strongly backed by Zulfiqar Babar with his excellent bowling, dismissed Lahore Ravi for just 149 in 52.3 overs. Zulfiqar picked up six for 46 in Lahore’s Ravi’s second innings, finishing with figures of 11 for 130 in the match. Pacer Abdul Rauf captured three for 69, finishing with five in the whole show. Unlike the first innings, no batsman of Lahore Ravi showed any remarkable resistance and only five of them hardly managed double figures with tail-ender Shahbaz Butt top-scoring with 28. Opener Kashif Siddiqui made 25.
Earlier Multan Region resumed their innings with an overnight score of 332 for seven and the whole team perished on 386. Rizwan Haider who was batting on 18 when the bails were drawn on the second day (Sunday), scored 33 while Zulfiqar Babar made patient 19 with four fours in the end.
Meanwhile, Sialkot inflicted an innings and four runs defeat on Faisalabad Region at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot. After claiming a first innings lead of 224 runs, Sialkot Region bowled Faisalabad Region out for 220 in their second innings. Opener Zeeshan Asif emerged as the leading scorer with 63 runs. He hit nine fours in his knock. Muhammad Salman, in the middle order, played an entertaining innings of 40 with seven boundaries and a six while Ahmad Hayat made 35 in the end with three fours and two sixes.
For Sialkot Region, Salman Ali and Nayyar Abbas shared three wickets each while pacer Dilwar Bhatti picked up two and proved to be the highest wicket-taker for Sialkot with seven wickets in the match as he had captured five for 48 in the first innings.
Faisalabad Region had scored 136 and 220 while Sialkot Region had posted 360 in their first innings. Meanwhile, at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad, opener Umair Khan’s unbeaten 103 put Islamabad on the way to give a decent winning target to Hyderabad Region as they posted 242 for three in their second innings at the close of play on day-three after conceding a 28 runs first innings lead.
Umair, who had scored 87 in the first innings, batted with great authority before reaching his hundred. His 103 not out came with the help of 12 boundaries. Ashar Zaidi is also at the crease with him on 85 with eight fours. Earlier, number three batsman Fayyaz Ahmad, who had cracked 74 in the first innings, made another patient 40.
Shahid Qambrani claimed two wickets for Hyderabad. Earlier, Hyderabad, while replying to Islamabad’s 438 runs first innings total, resumed the third day’s play with 390 for seven and were dismissed for 466. Mir Ali, who had resumed his innings with 38, scored 59 with seven fours and two sixes. For Islamabad, pacer Shehzad Azam captured five for 145 while slow left arm spinner Asher Zaidi took four for 50.