KARACHI: Test cricketer Iftikhar Ahmed blasted a solid hundred and left-arm pacer Samiullah Niazi picked five wickets to put Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) on the brink of victory against holders Wapda on the penultimate day of the five-day final of Quaid-i-Azam Trophy here at National Stadium on Sunday.
Iftikhar slammed 106 and Mohammad Rizwan blasted 91 to guide SNGPL to post 268 all out after conceding a 12-run lead to set a target of 257 for WAPDA. And then it was the turn of 35-year old Mianwali-born Samiullah Niazi who captured 5-38 to leave WAPDA gasping at 108-7 in their second innings at stumps.
WAPDA still need 149 more runs to win with only three wickets intact. On another perfect day for cricket SNGPL resumed their second innings at 141-4 and both Iftikhar and international stumper Rizwan perfectly batted, giving no chance to the oppositions. At lunch the former champions were 198-4.
However after the break left-arm spinner Khalid Usman broke the vital partnership by removing Rizwan, held by Adnan Raees to leave SNGPL at 214-5. Rizwan, who was batting on 54 on Saturday, smashed 11 fours from 200 balls which the right hander faced. Rizwan-Iftikhar partnership for the fifth wicket remained 193 runs.
Soon after off-spinner Zahid Mansoor got rid of Imran Khalid (6). Test leggie Yasir Shah (26) joined Iftikhar but the latter also fell, trapped lbw off left-arm pacer Waqas Maqsood after completing his eighth first-class hundred.
Peshawar-born Iftikhar, who was batting on 55 on Saturday, banged 11 fours from 256-ball knock. Khalid Usman then had Yasir before Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Asif got rid of the last two batsmen to fold SNGPL in 94.2 overs. Yasir struck two fours from 34 deliveries. Test pacer Mohammad Asif (3-63) and Waqas Maqsood (3-54) bowled with tight line and length. Khalid, who remained wicketless in the first innings, got 2-47. Asif claimed 5-105 in the match. Waqas, who also has a productive season with the ball, finished with 6-105 match-haul.
Chasing a tricky target WAPDA were at one stage reduced to 12-3 in the fifth over when Samiullah blew the top order, dislodging skipper Salman Butt (4), Adnan Raees (5) and Mohammad Saad (0) in quick succession to strengthen his team’s position.
At this stage opener Zahid Mansoor (38) and Aamer Sajjad (38) gave some hope of a fightback to WAPDA with some fine batting. However it also turned out to be short-lived when Zahid played an irresponsible stroke and was comfortably caught by skipper Mohammad Hafeez while rushing towards backward point position.
Zahid hit seven fours from 71 balls. And WAPDA were 86-4 at that stage. At the same score Samiullah removed well-set Aamer Sajjad, held excellently by Iftikhar at gully before Yasir bowled Kamran Akmal (0), and Samiullah had night watchman Mohammad Asif (0) to leave WAPDA reeling at 86-7.
Kamran, who had hit fifty in the first innings, went on his back foot to a delivery of Yasir that kept a bit low, taking the inner edge onto the stumps. Kamran faced nine balls. Aamer struck six fours and one splendid six off Yasir in his 53-ball effort. At stumps Khalid Usman (14*) and Khushdil Shah (8*) were at the crease. It is the only recognised pair. Waqas Maqsood and Wahab Riaz are to follow.
Samiullah, who has played two one-day international for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in 2008, was ably backed by world’s renowned leg-spinner Yasir Shah who got 2-57.Khalid Mehmood Senior and Ahsan Raza are supervising the match. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi also witnessed the dramatic part of the match in which wickets kept tumbling.