October 16, 2003	Thursday	Sha'aban 19, 1424

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KARACHI, Oct 15: Rising off-spinner Irfanuddin was again in the spotlight on Wednesday after he grabbed six wickets for KCCA Zone-VI in the PCB Inter-district Senior Cricket Tournament.

Irfanuddin, who has represented Pakistan juniors, returned splendid figures of six for 59 in 25.5 overs to curtail Zone-IV to 244 all out in their first innings on the last day of the two-day fixture at the TMC Ground.

Zone-VI gained three points by virtue of 46-run lead on the first innings as all three matches of the Karachi region were drawn.

Zone-IV’s young skipper Khalid Latif top-scored with 58 while Mohammad Farrukh contributed 52.

Zone-VI batted out the remaining time to reach 60 for two in the second innings.

Entertainment was the order of the day at the Landhi Gymkhana Ground where Zone-III, who head the standings, batted with gay abandon to smash 193 for six in only 28.2 overs of their second innings after deciding not to enforce the follow on.

Fahadullah spanked 73 off 57 balls, striking eight fours and three sixes. Bearded Hasan Arshad lashed five huge sixes and a solitary boundary in a 31-ball 41. Both of them were caught on fence.

Aamir Iqbal followed his unbeaten century in the first innings with 33 off 20 balls with the aid of two sixes and as many fours.

Earlier, Zone-V were bundled out for 145 in reply to Zone-III’s first innings tally of 272 after resuming at 11 for no loss. Seasoned campaigner Mohammad Masroor was one exception in an otherwise disappointing display by Zone-V batsmen.

The diminutive right-hander helped himself to 71 he tried valiantly to lift his side, which had slumped to 84 for seven at one stage, out of trouble. His 166-ball knock was spiced with nine boundaries and one six.

Spinners Jaffar Qureshi (left-arm) and off-break bowler Wajihuddin claimed three wickets each.

Gallant batting by Daniyal Ahsan (60) and Zone-VII skipper S.A. Fahim (57) prevented Zone-I from scoring a possible outright victory at the Asifabad Sports Ground.

Zone-VII batsmen occupied the crease beyond the tea interval to make 246 all out in 72.3 overs after starting the day at 50 for two in response to Zone-I’s huge total of 426 for seven in the first innings.

Talented pacer Faisal Mirza bowled with hostility to capture five wickets for 47 runs in 15 overs. Off-spinner Tahir Khan took three for 80 in 20 overs.

After obtaining a massive lead of 180, Zone-I opted for batting practice in the remaining time. They eventually finished at 119 for four in 28 overs.

Summarised scores:

*At Asifabad Sports Ground, match drawn:

ZONE-I 426-7 in 90 overs (Talha Khan 210 not out, Fahim Ahmed 85, Rashid Ali 69, Salman Hussain 24; Raheel Waris 3-100, Faraz Patel 2-45, S.A. Fahim 2-136) and 119-4 (Rashid Ali 38 not out, Faisal Mirza 20; Saad Wasim 3-29);

ZONE-VII 246 in 72.3 overs (Daniyal Ahsan 62, S.A. Fahim 57, Kamran Ahmed 36, Mansoor Ahmed 28, Faraz Patel 23; Faisal Mirza 5-47, Tahir Khan 3-80).

*At TMC Ground, match drawn:

ZONE-VI 290-9 in 90 overs (Imran Javed 109, Waqar Kundi 75 not out, Rizwan Qureshi 28; Azam Hussain 4-104, Khalid Latif 3-40, Mohammad Farrukh 2-83) and 60-2 (Ashfaq Shafi 35 not out);

ZONE-IV 244 in 81.5 overs (Khalid Latif 58, Mohammad Farrukh 52, Saad Siddiqui 42 not out; Irfanuddin 6-59, Imran Javed 2-50, Rizwan Qureshi 2-52).

*At Landhi Gymkhana Ground, match drawn:

ZONE-III 272 in 83 overs (Aamir Iqbal 110 not out, Jaffar Qureshi 54, Shadab Kabir 34, Ahmed Zeeshan Malik 23; Aqeel Sharif 4-50, Malik Aftab 3-47, Anis Shaikh 2-51) and 193-6 (Fahadullah 73, Hasan Arshad 41, Aamir Iqbal 33; Rizwan Saeed 2-25, Aqeel Sharif 2-43).

ZONE-V 145 in 58.2 overs (Mohammad Masroor 71, Ashraf Ali 29; Wajihuddin 3-41, Jaffar Qureshi 3-42, Fahad Khan 2-41).