Southern Punjab’s Tahir, KP’s Zeeshan shine with ball

LAHORE: Southern Punjab’s Tahir Hussain and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Zeeshan Ahmed took five wickets each in their third round matches of the National Under-19 Three-Day Tournament on Saturday.

At Country Club, Muridke, Sindh were bowled out for 207 in 49.3 overs after they resumed their first innings on 78 for two. Adeel Meo top-scored with a 52-ball 53, hitting seven fours and a six. Saim Ayub was the other notable run-getter with 45 off 81 balls, laced with nine fours.

For Southern Punjab, left-arm pacer Tahir took five wickets for 85 in 21 overs, while Faisal Akram took four for 77.

In reply, Southern Punjab were 67 for one in 17 overs when bails were drawn on day two. Uzair Mumtaz (30) and Mohammad Shehzad (13) will resume their batting tomorrow.

At Shalimar Ground, Islamabad, after being put in to bat, Central Punjab managed to score 160 for five in 51 overs against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as the opening day’s play was stopped because of bad light. Shawaiz Irfan top-scored with a 116-ball 66, which included nine fours and a six. He knitted a 92-run partnership for the opening wicket with Sameer Saqib (33 off 95 balls, six fours). Mohammad Huraira was the other notable scorer with an unbeaten 40 off 49 balls, hitting seven boundaries.

Left-arm spinner Zeeshan grabbed all five wickets to fall for 49 runs.

At Ayub Park Ground, Rawalpindi, only 21 overs were bowled on the opening day of the match because of rain. After being asked to bat first, Northern scored 100 for the loss of three wickets in 21 overs against Balochistan. Abdul Faseeh returned undefeated on 40 off 53 balls, having hit eight fours.

For Balochistan, Hikmat Ullah took two wickets for 34.