Faisalabad crush Multan to qualify for first class cricket

KARACHI: Faisalabad qualified for first-class cricket on Tuesday when they overwhelmed Multan by nine wickets on the third day of their four-day final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Grade-II at Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan.

Faisalabad will replace Karachi Blues in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (first-class) later this year.

Karachi Blues were relegated when they finished at the rock bottom among the regional outfits in the last first-class season.

Faisalabad achieved the 102-run target after losing only one wicket.

Usman Arshad (45*) and opener Ali Rafiq (44*) took their team home comfortably after the visitors had lost Asif Ali (9) early. They added 89 runs for the second unbroken stand.

Usman struck seven fours and one six in his 58-ball knock, while left-handed Ali smacked five fours from 64 deliveries.

Multan, who had conceded a 116-run lead, resumed their second innings at 29-2 and were all out for 217 in 81 overs.

Pakistan’s discarded hard-hitting young batsman Sohaib Maqsood blasted 103 off 159 balls. The right-handed Sohaib hammered 11 fours and one six in his gritty knock. Rizwan Haider contributed 43 off 89 balls, striking five fours. Stumper Gulraiz Sadaf scored a patient 20 runs off 102 deliveries. He also struck one four.

Left-arm pacer Samiullah Niazi, who played two One-day Internationals against Zimbabwe in Karachi and Hyderabad in 2008, was the pick of the bowlers with 6-58. He got seven wickets in the game.

Young paceman Naseer Akram claimed 3-37, for 5-83 match-figures. Multan posted 245 in their first innings. In response, Faisalabad accumulated 361-8.

Ahsan Raza and Asif Yaqoob supervised the match. Former Test cricketer Ali Naqvi was the match referee. Mohammad Akbar was the official scorer.

Misbah-ul-Haq was declared man of the final for his superb 94 runs knock in the first innings which enabled Faisalabad to secure the lead on Monday. He had hit back-to-back centuries in league games.

Misbah, who will lead Pakistan in the Test Series against the West Indies, played in the second-tier tournament to regain his form and enable his side to qualify for first-class cricket.

The winners were handed over a purse of Rs500,000, while the runners-up went away with a cheque of Rs250,000.

Besides, Rs50,000 each was handed over to Misbah (man of the final), Ayaz Tasawwar (Sialkot, best batsman, 583 runs), off-spinner Nasir Awais (Hyderabad, best bowler, 38 wickets) and Imranullah (Bahawalpur, best all-rounder, 283 runs, 22 wickets).