Ehsan pushes Faisalabad close to victory over Sialkot

KARACHI: Discarded Test pacer Ehsan Adil put Faisalabad on the brink of a victory against Sialkot on the second day of their second round Group A three-day fixture of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Grade-II at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, on Wednesday.

After securing a huge 101-run lead, Ehsan (6-31) enabled Faisalabad to reduce Sialkot to 135-9 in their second innings at stumps. Sialkot are 34 runs ahead.Faisal Khan smashed 52 off 59 balls, striking eight fours. Asad Ali chipped in with 25 off 31 balls, hitting five fours.

In response to Sialkot’s first innings total of 101, Faisalabad resumed their innings at 97-4 and were bowled out for 202 in 66 overs. Ali Shan scored 54 not out for which he faced 88 balls. He smashed seven fours and two sixes. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq fell for 46 in his 107-ball effort during which he hit seven fours. Discarded international Bilawal Bhatti and Mohammad Ali got three wickets each. Left-arm spinner Raza Hasan got 2-39.

Naushad Khan and Abrar Khan are supervising the match.In the other Group A outing, at Mirpur Stadium, Mirpur, Bahawalpur were on the verge of conceding lead when after restricting Hyderabad to 315-9 in 83 overs they were gasping at 261-9 in their first innings.

Mohammad Umair is the only hope for Bahawalpur as he was at the crease on 113. He had smacked nine fours and two sixes in his 190-ball unfinished knock.Adeel Basit chipped in with 43 off 72 balls, striking five fours. Nouman Ali got 3-78. Asif Mehmood and Asad Malik claimed two wickets each.

Earlier, Hyderabad resumed their first innings at 294-8 and were restricted to 315-9 in the allotted 83 overs.Mohammad Imran and Mohammad Junaid claimed four wickets each. Jamshed Iqbal and Saifullah Khan are supervising the match.

In a Group B show here at NBP Sports Complex, after being forced to follow-on, Dera Murad Jamali were struggling at 108-3 in their second innings at stumps against Quetta. They still need 62 more runs to avert innings defeat.

Abid Ali chipped in with 54 which featured seven fours. Nasir Khan made 26. Shehzad Tareen got 2-26.In response to Quetta’s first innings total of 305-4, DM Jamali resumed their innings at 12 without loss and were all out for 136 in 54.2 overs. Nasir Khan and Saleem Mal scored 22 runs each.

Gohar Faiz was the pick of the bowlers with 4-58. Aziz Ullah got three and Mohiuddin picked two wickets each.Raweed Khan and Raza Asghar are supervising the match.In another Group B clash, here at UBL Sports Complex, Abbottabad set a tough 329-run target for Larkana and the latter were gasping at 20-2 in their second innings at close.

In response to Abbottabad’s first innings score of 244, Larkana resumed their innings at 99-5 and were folded for 153 in 62.5 overs. Asif Babar smashed a rapid 35-ball 39 with five fours and one six. Aamir Panwar chipped in with 24 not out. Fawad Malook and Aitzaz Habib claimed four wickets each.

After securing 91-run lead, Abbottabad declared their second innings at 237-6. Kamran Ghulam scored 52 off 64 balls, striking seven fours. Sajjad Ali (51) and Fawad Malook (41*) were the other prominent contributors. Ali Asghar got 3-55. Shah Nawaz Dahani claimed 2-68. Aziz-ur-Rehman and Rashid Khan are the field umpires.