Nauman hits maiden ton against KP

LAHORE: Northern captain Nauman Ali scored his maiden first-class century on the fourth and final day of the round one of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before the match, played at the Gaddafi Stadium, ended in a draw.

Nauman needed 15 runs when play resumed on Saturday. He made 103 off 112 balls – hitting 12 fours and two sixes – and became the third batter in the innings to reach triple digits after youngsters Faizan Riaz and Mubasir Khan had stroked centuries on day three.

Nauman surpassed his previous career-best of 97 that he had recorded in a Test against Zimbabwe at Harare earlier in the year.

Nauman’s overnight partner Umar Amin missed his century by six runs as he was run out on the second ball of the day without scoring any run.

Northern, in their reply of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 337, had posted a mammoth 511 for eight before declaring the innings after playing six overs and two balls.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa batted for 40 overs and Sahibzada Farhan followed his 71 with 79. He added 125 runs with Israrullah, scored 59.

Northern finished round one with 11 points (five draw, three batting, three bowling) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa collected nine (five draw, three batting, one bowling).

The Punjab Derby at Multan Cricket Stadium also ended in a draw. Central Punjab’s Ahmed Shehzad missed out on a century by nine runs as he was run out. Central Punjab, captained by Azhar Ali, who was unbeaten on 47, declared at 212 for four.

Chasing 344, Southern Punjab had managed 218 for four before umpires called stumps. Zain Abbas (85) and Umar Siddiq (71) added 139 runs for the second wicket.

Left-arm orthodox Zafar Gohar removed both batters and Tayyab Tahir to finish with three wickets in the innings and seven wickets in the match.