January 11, 2003	Saturday	Ziqa'ad 7, 1423

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KARACHI, Jan 10: Allied Bank Limited (ABL) created some sort of history by recording the biggest victory in Pakistan cricket for 44 years when they massacred Dadu by a huge margin of an innings and 425 runs in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Group-II match at Asghar Ali Shah Stadium here on Friday.

Dadu, who needed 465 to avoid an inevitable innings defeat at the start of the penultimate day of the four-day fixture, added a mere 40 runs to the overnight tally of 33 for four.

ABL’s spin duo of skipper Arshad Khan and slow left-armer Mohammad Zahid Senior shared the spoils with four wickets each in Dadu’s second innings, which terminated just 53 minutes after play resumed on the third morning.

ABL comfortably head this group with maximum 48 points after four relatively effortless wins.

The largest margin of victory in all first-class cricket is an innings and 810 runs when Railways outclassed Dera Ismail Khan in the 1964-65 season at Lahore.

The second most comprehensive win on Pakistan soil was achieved by Sindh (then spelled Sind), who defeated Balochistan (Baluchistan) by an innings and 575 runs at Karachi in 1973-74, followed by an innings and 479-run triumph when Karachi thrashed Bahawalpur, also at Karachi, in 1958-59.

By inducting teams as weak as Dadu, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not doing any favour to either the beleaguered team or the game in this country.

Despite various drawbacks in the domestic cricket structure, the gulf between teams such as Dadu and a department side like ABL is so wide that nobody is not going to benefit from this absurd experimentation.

Meanwhile, Multan staged a comeback to reach 287 in their first innings in response to Karachi Whites’ 376 at UBL Sports Complex.

Multan, who were 107 for four overnight, were well served by Kamran Ali (73 off 166 balls, nine fours) and Farhan Abbasi (41 with five hits to the fence).

Spinners Arif Mahmood and Tahir Khan claimed four wickets apiece, conceding 84 and 96 runs, respectively.

By stumps, Karachi Whites had extended their overall lead to 180 runs by reaching 91 for one in their second innings. Asif Zakir and Asim Kamal had each made 40 in the unfinished second-wicket partnership of 84 after skipper Maisam Hasnain had gone for six.

Pak PWD were 73 for no wicket in their second innings after hosts Bahawalpur had taken a substantial lead of 197 on the first innings at Bahawalpur Stadium.

Bahawalpur, who began the day on 270 for six, declared at 343 for nine in reply Pak PWD’s first innings total of 146.