KARACHI, March 4: With only two rounds left in the Pentangular Cup, the race for the lucrative title is still wide open with Sindh leading the charge at the start of their crucial fixture against second-placed Federal Areas in Islamabad.

With a game in hand, Sindh currently head the standings with 12 points after scoring come-from-behind victories against NWFP and Balochistan. The match at the Diamond Club Ground in the capital, which begins from Wednesday, will probably decide the issue if the visitors outgun the boys from Federal Areas.

A reverse, however, could seriously jeopardize their hopes since they take on Punjab in the last round in Karachi. But Shahid Afridi’s team has shown the character to overcome hurdles as they did in their two games thus far.

Federal Areas must beat Sindh to put themselves in title contention because they are featuring in their final match of the tournament. They will be pinning their hopes on the in-form duo of Bazid Khan and all-rounder Sohail Tanvir to provide the thrust.

Bazid scored a pair of centuries to help Federal Areas escape with a draw against NWFP after playing a similar role against Punjab when he hit a match-saving 172 in the second innings.

Sohail Tanvir, the Pakistan all-rounder and leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 13 wickets, is the main threat to Sindh, who will be heavily relying on their new ball pair of Sohail Khan and Anwar Ali Khan.

Punjab are also desperate for a win after drawing against Federal Areas and NWFP on a featherbed of a pitch at Gaddafi Stadium where Salman Butt went bonkers with a career-best 290 in the opening tie before scoring 72 and 117 versus NWFP.

But Punjab are certain to make amends as they play Balochistan, who have been easily the weakest lot on view. Having been trounced by an innings and 212 runs by Federal Areas at Karachi’s National Stadium, Balochistan collapsed dramatically for just 42 in the second innings against Sindh at the same venue to lose inside two days.

Punjab will be hoping that the track for the Balochistan clash at Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot has more life then it was in Lahore. Pakistan’s injury-prone pace bowler Mohammad Asif, who has been recuperating from an elbow surgery, could be a likely starter for Punjab on Wednesday.

Schedule (March 5-8):

Federal Areas v Sindh at Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad (Umpires: Ahmed Shahab and Ahsan Raza; match referee: Ishtiaq Ahmed).

Punjab v Balochistan at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot (Umpires: Asad Rauf and Zameer Haider; match referee: Abdul Sami Khan).

Standings

(Tabulated under teams, played, won, lost, drawn, points):

Sindh 2 2 0 0 12

Federal Areas 3 1 0 2 9

NWFP 3 0 1 2 6

Punjab 2 0 0 2 3

Balochistan 2 0 2 0 0