Southern Punjab solid in reply to Northern’s mammoth total

ISLAMABAD: Southern Punjab got off to a solid start against a mammoth Northern first innings total in their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot, on Tuesday.

When stumps were drawn for the second day, Southern had reached 102, having lost Shan Masood (58) to Nauman Ali (1-10). This was in response to a huge Northern first innings total of 550 for 6 declared.

Shan and Sami Aslam (42 not out) put on 98 runs for the opening wicket for Southern Punjab. Earlier, Northern declared their first innings with overnight not out batsmen Zeeshan Malik (216) and Umer Amin (156) falling victim to Mohammad Abbas (2-86) and Rahat Ali (3-97), respectively.

Zeeshan hit 29 fours and five sixes in his 266-ball knock. Umer’s innings included 20 fours and two sixes. Young Faizan Riaz (83 off 109 balls) struck eight boundaries and two sixes.

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, unbeaten half-centuries by Fawad Alam and Saad Ali pushed Sindh to 196 for four in 57.5 overs when stumps were drawn on day two against Central Punjab.

Sindh had lost four wickets for 72 runs as young fast-bowler Naseem Shah accounted for the wickets of Khurram Manzoor (10), Abid Ali (three) and Omair Bin Yousaf (33).

Faheem Ashraf removed Asad Shafiq, who managed only five runs during his 18-ball stay at the crease. Fawad and Saad knitted an unbeaten 124-run stand for the fifth wicket which put Sindh’s innings back on track.

Fawad had scored 78 runs from 133 balls with 10 fours. Saad made 60 off 119 with eight fours.

Earlier, Central Punjab were all out for 313 in 95.5 overs, having added only 50 runs to their overnight score.

On Tuesday morning, Faheem led the charge with the bat for the hosts. Resuming his innings at 22, the all-rounder scored 52 not out from 63 balls, cracking seven fours and a six. With three wickets for 99 runs, Kashif Bhatti was the pick of the bowlers for Sindh.

Both teams bagged three points each as Sindh took nine or more wickets and Central Punjab crossed the 300-run mark in the first 110 overs.

At Bugti Stadium, Quetta, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa gave Balochistan a spirited reply. In response to the home team’s 553-8 declared in 145.4 overs, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were 150 for no loss in 34 overs at the close of second day’s play. Captain Sahibzada Farhan and Israrullah were batting on 72 and 71, respectively.

Farhan cracked 10 boundaries off 102 deliveries, while Israrullah’s unbeaten 103-ball knock was laced with 10 fours and a six.

Earlier, Balochistan, 341 for three overnight, rode on an excellent double-century by Imran Butt to amass a huge score. The 23-year-old hit a career-best 214 after resuming the day at his overnight score of 135 not out. The right-handed batsman stayed at the crease for 522 minutes and cracked 18 fours and three sixes off 387 balls.

Balochistan captain Imran Farhat was the first batsman out on Tuesday after adding 20 runs to his overnight score of 114. The left-hander hit 17 fours and a six off 219 balls. The two Imrans shared a mammoth partnership of 256 runs for the fourth wicket.