Hammad hits ton for Northern

ISLAMABAD: Southern Pu­n­j­ab got off to a controlled start against a big Northern’s first innings total in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy first-class match at the KRL Ground in Rawal­pindi on Tuesday.

Following second day’s play, Southern Punjab reached 149-2 in response to Northern’s 463-7 declared.

Hammad Azam (100 not out) finally came to the party for Northern with a stylish century that helped his team cross 450 figures. He smashed six fours and two sixes in his 154-ball unbeaten innings to show the lower middle order strength of Northern.

Resuming at the overnight 48 not out, Hammad was seen playing with the same vein which was his innings’ hallmark during first day. He hardly provided any opportunity to bowlers to cross his defenses. He was well supported by wicketkeeper Jamal Anwar (44) and skipper Nauman Ali (37).

Though left-arm seamer Waqas Ahmad dislodged in-form Sami Aslam (9) early, Umar Siddiq (58 not out) and Zeeshan Ashraf (57) took the score to 127 before Shadab got him to see Southern Punjab finishing the day at 149-2.

Southern Punjab face a tough task to match Northern’s first innings total as they are 314 still adrift with eight of their wickets in hand.

Scores in brief: At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: Northern 463-7 declared in 109.4 overs (Hammad Azam 100 not out, Umar Amin 90, Ali Sarfaraz 73; Mohammad Irfan 5-158). Southern Punjab 149-2 in 42 overs (Umar Siddiq 58 not out, Zeeshan Ashraf 57).

At National Stadium, Karachi: Central Punjab 246 all out in 94.3 overs (Kamran Akmal 59, Usman Salahuddin 57, Ahmed Shehzad 48; Tabish Khan 5-85, Anwar Ali 2-27, Sohail Khan 2-51). Sindh 255-4 in 72.3 overs (Khurram Manzoor 85, Jahid Ali 72, Fawad Alam 42 not out; Bilal Asif 3-64).

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 385 all out in 114.3 overs (Zohaib Khan 133, Ashfaq Ahmed 54, Usman Shinwari 51; Mohammad Asghar 6-121). Balochistan 146 all out in 51 overs (Bismillah Khan 35, Hussain Talat 25, Khurram Shehzad 22; Junaid Khan 4-36, Usman Shinwari 3-36).