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KARACHI, Feb 4: A fiery burst from pacer Jaffar Nazir all but put Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) into the final of the Quaid-i-Azam National Cricket Championship after Faisalabad were forced to follow on at National Stadium here on Tuesday.
Jaffar captured six for 31 in an unchanged spell of 17 overs from the University Road End to skittle out Faisalabad for 105 in their first innings on the second day of the four-day tie.
Batting a second time with 231 runs in arrears, Faisalabad fared slightly better to reach 75 for three. Asif Hussain was holding the fort with a battling 38.
KRL now have to wait until Thursday morning to complete an inevitable victory in this first semifinal after Wednesday’s unexpected rest day because of Kashmir Day.
Faisalabad’s woes were further compounded by an injury to Mohammad Salman, normally a wicket-keeper but playing in this game as a batsman, who was unable to bat after requiring four stitches in his right hand.
Salman was incapacitated while catching Naeem Akhtar in the slips as KRL added 73 to their overnight score of 263 for six.
Wicket-keeper Zulfiqar Jan hammered 37 while putting 30 for the last wicket with Mohammad Asif.
Barring any miracle, KRL’s opponents in the Feb 17-21 final, scheduled to be played at National Stadium, will be decided when PIA meet Rawalpindi in the second semifinal at UBL Sports Complex from Thursday.
Scoreboard
KRL (1st Innings), overnight 263-6):
M. Ramzan c Asif b Moazzam 4
Saeed Anwar Jr c Wasim b Moazzam 9
Intikhab Alam lbw b Nadeem 20
Saeed bin Nasir c Zaman b Tauqir 87
Misbah-ul-Haq c Zaman b Moazzam 68
Ali Naqvi lbw b Farooq 33
Yasir Arafat run out 28
Naeem Akhtar c Salman b Tauqir 19
Zulfiqar Jan c Tauqir b Wasim 37
Jaffar Nazir b Tauqir 4
Mohammad Asif not out 10
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-9, W-1, NB-3) 17
TOTAL (all out, 100.5 overs) 336
FALL OF WKTS: 7-268, 8-293, 9-306.
BOWLING: Nadeem Afzal 23-5-56-1 (1nb); Moazzam Ali 26-3-102-3 (2nb); Tauqir Hussain 22-5-81-3 (1w); Farooq Iqbal 19-8-43-1; Zeeshan Asif 2-0-17-0; Wasim Haider 6.5-1-12-1; Asif Hussain 2-1-12-0.
FAISALABAD (1st Innings);
Zeeshan Asif lbw b Jaffar 5
Hasnain Haider c Zulfiqar b Jaffar 4
Asif Hussain lbw b Jaffar 2
Mohammad Zaman b Jaffar 9
Sami-ul-Haq c Ramzan b Yasir 10
Wasim Haider c Zulfiqar b Jaffar 22
Tauqir Hussain run out 16
Farooq Iqbal c Zulfiqar b Yasir 4
Nadeem Afzal not out 15
Moazzam Ali b Jaffar 5
Mohammad Salman absent injured -
EXTRAS (LB-2, W-1, NB-10) 13
TOTAL (all out, 33 overs) 105
FALL OF WKTS: 1-9, 2-12, 3-17, 4-27, 5-39, 6-72, 7-82, 8-92, 9-105.
BOWLING: Jaffar Nazir 17-6-31-6 (1nb); Mohammad Asif 7-3-8-0 (2nb); Yasir Arafat 9-0-64-2 (3nb, 1w).
FAISALABAD (2nd Innings, following-on):
Zeeshan Asif lbw b Asif 4
Hasnain Haider c Zulfiqar b Jaffar 5
Asif Hussain not out 38
Tauqir Hussain b Saeed Jr 10
Sami-ul-Haq not out 4
EXTRAS (LB-4, NB-10) 14
TOTAL (for three wkts, 28 overs) 75
FALL OF WKTS: 1-8, 2-14, 3-69.
BOWLING (to-date): Jaffar Nazir 5-1-10-1 (1nb); Mohammad Asif 7-1-13-1 (3nb); Yasir Arafat 8-1-23-1 (2nb); Naeem Akhtar 3-0-18-0 (4nb); Ali Naqvi 4-2-6-0; Saeed Anwar Jr 1-0-1-1.
