By By Alam Zeb Safi
Chasing 316, Multan resumed their second innings on 99 for three but failed to meet the target in spite of a fine start, and were all out on 290. Naved Yasin (84) and Muhammad Ali Niazi (77) at one stage made the things difficult for Karachi Blues but when their 146-run stand for the fifth wicket was broken, the momentum shifted towards Karachi as the remaining five batters just added 26 runs to the total. Pacer Muhammad Sami took five for 48, finishing with six wickets in the match while the future prospect Tanvir Ahmed, who is very much impressive this season, picked up three for 86, ending with seven wickets in the show.
With the win, Karachi Blues, leading Group B, took their points to 36. Karachi Blues scored 377 and 167 while Multan posted 229 and 290.
Meanwhile, at the Marghzar Cricket Ground in Islamabad, Habib Bank edged out Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) by 83 runs to stretch their points to 33 in Group A. Chasing 240, ZTBL were bowled out for 156 due to tight bowling from right arm fast bowler Sarmad Anwar who took six for 70. Shahid Yousuf with 28 was the top scorer for ZTBL. Earlier, Habib Bank resumed their second innings on 67 for two and perished on 149 with the substantial contributions from Aslam Qureshi (36) and Hasan Raza (33). Pacer Kashif Dawood captured six for 52. Habib Bank had scored 257 in their first innings while ZTBL, in reply, had accumulated 167.
At the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, National Bank took a full nine points when they routed Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) by an innings and 68 runs. Needing 260 to avoid an innings defeat, SSGC resumed their second innings on 143 for six and were all out for 191. Ahmed Zeeshan, who was not out on 18 on Thursday, scored 38.
Uzair-ul-Haq clinched six for 65, finishing with 11 wickets for 105 runs in the match.
Muhammad Talha took three. SSGC had scored 182 in their first innings while National Bank had made 441, in reply.
PIA suffered 141-run defeat at the hands of WAPDA in Group A at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Needing 278 to win, PIA were bundled out for 137 in the second innings. Fahad Iqbal cracked 40. Sarfraz Ahmad took three, finishing with eight in the match while Umaid Asif, Azharullah and Imranullah shared two wickets each. WAPDA scored 138 and 333 for nine declared while PIA made 193 and 137.
Sui Southern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) inflicted a six wickets defeat on Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi. Chasing 86 to win, SNGPL, resumed their second innings on 16 for two and made home after losing four batters in the process. Opener Muhammad Hafeez top-scored with 52 in which he smashed nine boundaries. KRL scored 198 and 180 while SNGPL made 293 and 87 for four.
Islamabad recorded their maiden win when they crushed Faisalabad by an innings and 70 runs at the Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital. After being forced to follow on, when they were all out for 309 in reply to Islamabad's first innings total of 485, Faisalabad also failed to resist in their second innings, perishing on just 106. Shehzad Azam grabbed seven for 36 for Islamabad.
The match between Lahore Ravi and Hyderabad at the LCCA Ground in Lahore ended in a draw. However, Hyderabad Region got three points due to first innings lead. Hyderabad scored 379 and 346 for nine while Lahore Ravi posted 346 in their first innings.