LAHORE, Oct 18: A face-saving ninth wicket century partnership between stand-in skipper Nadeem Khan and Mohammad Zahid salvaged a draw for PIA against Sui Gas in the Patron’s Trophy Grade-I encounter on a dusty LCCA pitch Thursday.

Nadeem, who made 90 off 147 balls, and Zahid (40) came together after PIA had unexpectedly collapsed to 125 for eight shortly after lunch. The pair dug in to put on 123 priceless runs that went a long way in saving PIA from a certain defeat as the national carrier rallied to make 251 in their second innings.

Set a meaningless 255 for victory, Sui Gas reached 49 for one in their second innings when umpires Riazuddin and Ehtesham-ul-Haq called off the match.

Resuming at zero without loss, PIA, at one stage, lost seven wickets for 82 runs with paceman Abdur Rauf and slow left-armer Mohammad Hussain doing most of the damage with three wickets each.

Opener Sohail Jaffar had a match to forget because he bagged a pair.

However, Nadeem Khan, who hit 10 fours and a six, piloted PIA to safety. He received excellent support from Zahid, whose 40 off 98 deliveries contained two huge sixes and five fours.

Rauf finished with three for 39, Hussain three for 80, Azhar Abbas two for 51 and leg-spinner Imran Tahir two for 22.