Sindh, Southern Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in commanding positions

KARACHI: Sindh, Southern Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa dominated the proceedings on the second day of their three-day matches of the non-first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on Wednesday.

Here at NBP Sports Complex, Sindh took a 127-run first innings lead over Central Punjab as Danish Aziz’s four-wicket haul restricted the visitors to 228 runs in reply to Sindh’s first innings score of 355. Raza Ali Dar scored 48 while Farhan Khan made an unbeaten 41 for Central Punjab.

Sindh had a poor start in the second innings. They ended day two on 50 for the loss of four wickets with Ahmed Saifi taking three wickets. The hosts, however, have an overall lead of 177 runs and will look to drive home the advantage on the third and final day.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa took control of their match against Balochistan at Peshawar’s Hayatabad Sports Complex.

The hosts took an 88-run lead in the first innings by responding with 264 runs against Balochistan’s first innings score of 176 all out. Rehan Afridi scored 93 while Sajid Khan, who took seven wickets in the first innings, scored a brilliant 92. Gohar Faiz took five wickets while Haseeb Azam claimed three. Sajid continued his dream run in the match by taking four second-wicket innings as Balochistan ended day two at a precarious position of 127 for six. Fahad Iqbal with an unbeaten 43 was the only one to resist the home bowlers.

Balochistan will start the third and final day, a mere 39 runs ahead with only four wickets standing in their second innings.

At Muzaffarabad Stadium, Southern Punjab dominated day two against Northern. Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar took four wickets while left-arm seamer Zia-ul-Haq captured three as Southern Punjab blew away Northern for 117 in their first innings. Southern Punjab took a commanding 189-run lead and forced the hosts to follow-on. Northern fared better in their second innings and ended the day at 149 for two. Umar Waheed with an unbeaten 62 led the fight-back. Northern will start the final day still needing 40 more runs to make Southern Punjab bat again.