JDW advance to President’s Trophy semi-final

LAHORE: JDW, the development squad of Multan Sultans, booked a place in the President’s Trophy Grade-II semi-finals after their quarter-final clash with Railways ended in a draw at the Shoaib Akhtar Stadium on Wednesday.

With two sessions on the opening day being lost to overnight rain, JDW’s commanding 133-run first-innings lead proved decisive. A target of 374 was set, with Railways ending the final day at 64 for four.

JDW will now face Sahir Associates in the semi-final, scheduled to be played from May 24th to 26th at the same venue. The third and final day saw standout performances from left-arm pacer Majid Ali and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Zulkifal.

Majid wrapped up the Railways’ innings by taking the final two wickets, and finishing with impressive figures of 12.4-1-36-6. Railways were bowled out for 135 in 47.4 overs after resuming at 129 for eight, replying to JDW’s first-innings total of 268.

In the second innings, JDW found themselves struggling at 100 for five before Zulkifal came to the rescue. He remained unbeaten on 100, guiding JDW to 240 all out and setting Railways a daunting target of 374.

Zulkifal’s 166-ball knock featured eight boundaries. Opener Rana Adeel contributed 57 (eight fours), while Jahanzaib Sultan added 27. For Railways, off-spinner Abdullah Zubair took 4 for 83, and Mohammad Rafi claimed 2 for 47. JDW had advanced to the quarter-finals from Pool B after winning three matches and securing first-innings leads in the other three.

Scores in Brief (Day 3 of 3):

JDW 268 all-out, 73.2 overs (Ali Imran 89, Mohammad Zubair 58, Haroon Arshad 50, Mohammad Junaid 21; Mohammad Rafi 3-57, Asad Ullah 2-37, Abdullah Zubair 2-49) and 240 all-out.