November 23, 2007	Friday	Ziqa’ad 12, 1428

LAHORE, Nov 22: Showing dominance on all four days of the match, Wapda emerged as the Group ‘A’ leader after earning a fine 138-run win over Habib Bank Limited (HBL) in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Championship at the Sheikhupura Stadium on Thursday.

Set to score 331 for a win, HBL, the champions of the group before this match but now relegated to the third spot, resumed their second innings at 48-3 to be all out for 192 in 45.3 overs. Leg-spinner Farooq Iqbal with a haul of five wickets for 37 did the major damage.

The victory made Wapda’s tally of 39 points from five matches -- four wins and one draw -- bringing National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to second position on net run-rate and HBL third with 36 points each. Kamran Hussain, with a knock of 81, was the lone main scorer for HBL.

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, the hosts celebrated a seven-wicket win over Hyderabad to bring their points to 21.

Given a 136-run target to win, Faisalabad resumed their second innings at 18 without loss, scoring 137-3 in 28.1 overs.

Fine batting by Mohammad Ayub (93), Faisal Khan (62) and unbeaten Hafiz Khalid (56) enabled Sialkot to earn a thrilling two-wicket win against Customs while chasing a challenging target of 303 at the Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot.

Customs, having conceded the first innings lead of 80, bounced back scoring 382-7. They declared their innings after setting a difficult target for the hosts in the second knock. Accepting the challenge, Sialkot romped home, scoring 303-8 in 81.5 overs to register their first win in the competition.

Although Ayub and Faisal batted well, it was Khalid’s continued efforts that bore fruit for Sialkot.

The match between Karachi Whites and Multan ended in a tame draw at the UBL ground No.1, Karachi. Gaining three points in the first innings, the visitors scored 395 in reply to Karachi Whites’s total of 391. Karachi Whites were 89-2 in the second knock before the umpires called off the match.

Karachi Blues also lost three points in their first innings lead as their match against Abbottabad ended in a draw at the Abbottabad Stadium. While replying to the visitors total of 363, the home team scored 432 to earn a 69 runs lead. In the second innings, Karachi Blues were 251 for three as opener A. Kamal scored an unbeaten century and fellow opener Test discard Shadab Kabir scored 84. Shadab was the centurion in the first innings.

Rawalpindi also pocketed three points in the first innings as their match against Lahore Shalimar also ended in a draw at the Mirpurkhas Stadium.

A heroic knock by Junaid Malik (85) and Shahnawaz Malik (46) saved Lahore Shalimar from a defeat. Set to score 331 to win, Lahore Shalimar were 226-6 in their second innings before the umpires ended the match.

Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) who had also earned three points after their match against Lahore Ravi, finished in a draw at the Lahore Country Club, Muridke.

A double century by opener Afaq Raheem (275) and a ton by fellow-opener Umar Javed (134) helped Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) to gain three points in the first innings lead against Quetta. Replying to Quetta’s first innings mammoth total of 460, ZTBL were 515-4 by the end of the match.

Summarised scores:

Sheikhupura Stadium

Wapda win by 138 runs.

Wapda (1st innings) 194, 86.1 overs. And 274. HBL (1st innings) 138, 43.3 overs. And 192, 45.3 overs (Kamran Hussain 81; Farooq Iqbal 5-37).

Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

Faisalabad win by seven wickets.

HYDERABAD (1st innings) 245, 67.5 overs. And 160, 47.5 overs. FAISALABAD (1st innings) 227-8, 83 overs. And 137-3, 28.1 overs (Ammar Mehmood 45, Imran Ali 40).

Abbottabad Stadium.

Draw.

KARACHI BLUES (1st innings) 363, 101 overs. And 251-3 (A Kamal 100, Shadab Kabir 84). Abbotabad (1st innings) 432.

UBL ground No.1, Karachi.

Draw.

KARACHI WHITES (1st innings) 391, 154.4 overs. And 89-2.Multan (1st innings) 395, 129.3 overs (Sohaib Maqsood 123, Naveed Ahmed 49, Ramiz Alam 60, Gulraiz Sadaf 47; Fahad Khan 5-78, Tanveer Ahmed 3-105).

KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi.

Draw.

QUETTA (1st innings) 460-9 decld, 150.2 overs. ZTBL (1st innings) 515-4, 165 overs (Afaq Raheem 273, Umer Javed 134).

Lahore Country Club, Muridke

Draw.

LAHORE RAVI (1st innings) 371, 89.4 overs. And 209-9 (Ali Haider 45; Sohail Khan 3-48). SSGC (1st innings) 476-9 declard (Asif Zakir 168, Shehzad Butt 82, Imran Abbas 49; Hafiz Saad Naseem 3-46).----

Mirpur Stadium, Mirpurkhas.

RAWALPINDI (1st innings) 284, 111 overs. And 192-9 decld. (Yasim Murtaza 48; Mohammad Saeed 3-42). Lahore Shalimar (1st innings) 147, 61.3 overs (Yasim Murtaza 3-21). And 226-6, 68.3 overs (Junaid Malik 85, Shahnawaz Malik 46; Rizwan Akbar 4-73).

Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot

Sialkot win by two wickets.

CUSTOMS (1st innings) 145, 43.1 overs. And 382-7 decld. SIALKOT (1st innings) 225, 79.3 overs. And 303-8, 81.5 overs (Mohammad Ayub 93, Faisal Khan 62, Hafiz Khalid 56; Raees Amjad 3-73, Sajjad Hussain 3-99).