Bahawalpur, Multan, Abbottabad win Grade-II matches

KARACHI: Bahawalpur, Multan and Abbottabad recorded impressive victories in the first round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Grade-II on Thursday.

Bahawalpur defeated Larkana by seven wickets, while Multan crushed Azad Jammu and Kashmir by an innings and 111 runs to open their account with ten points. Abbottabad whipped Hyderabad by 302 runs.

On the third and last day of a Group A outing, at Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur, Bahawalpur achieved the 56-run target in 10.5 overs after losing three wickets. Mudassir Nazir remained not out on 31 which included six fours.

Larkana, who had conceded 171 runs lead, resumed their second innings at 190-7 and were folded for 226 in 76.3 overs.

Mohammad Imran got 3-54. Adeel Basit and Mohammad Asghar got two wickets each.

Larkana scored 193 all out in their first innings. Bahawalpur, in reply, piled up 464-8.

In the other show of this group, Multan began their quest for first-class status by crushing underdogs AJK at Multan Stadium.

AJK, who had conceded 237 runs lead, resumed their second innings at 62-7 and perished for 126 in 41.2 overs. Abdul Shakoor scored 60 off 79 balls, hammering eight fours. Medium pacer Sadaf Mehdi got 6-39.

AJK had scored 158 all out in their first innings. In response, Multan amassed 395-5 in the allotted 83 overs.

In a Group B outing, at Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad, chasing 400 runs target set by Abbottabad, Hyderabad began their second innings at 18-1 and were folded for 97 in 48.4 overs.

Lal Kumar scored 26, which featured four fours. Mohammad Qaisar (22) and Rizwan Ahmed (21) were the other prominent scorers.

Nasir Khan, Kamran Ghulam, Ahmed Jamal and Khalid Usman grabbed two wickets each. Ahmed Jamal grabbed six wickets in the match.

Abbottabad scored 233 all out and 299-7 declared. Hyderabad made 133 all out in their first innings.

The Group B meeting here at National Stadium between Faisalabad and Dera Murad Jamali ended in a draw with the former taking three points due to first innings lead.

After gaining a seven runs lead, Faisalabad resumed their second innings at 13 without loss and went on to 273-4 till close of the match with Ali Rafiq scoring a fantastic 92, which featured 12 fours.

Experienced first-class cricketer Khurram Shehzad belted unbeaten 52 with three fours. He faced just 46 balls. Asif Ali, who was part of Islamabad United in the recent PSL, chipped in with 52 in which he hit seven fours and one six. Salim Mal got 2-67.

Faisalabad had scored 295-8 in their first innings. In response, DM Jamali had accumulated 288-9.