March 07, 2008	Friday	Safar 28, 1429

LAHORE, March 6: Test opener Salman Butt and fellow left-hander Nasir Jamshed struck centuries to put Punjab in a commanding position against Balochistan on the second day of the Pentangular Cup match at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot on Thursday.

Salman hit third century of the tournament when plundered 160 off 212 balls while Nasir scored 140 before he retiring hurt as Punjab piled up 425-2 in 76 overs in reply to Balochistan’s first-innings total of 375.

Salman and Nasir added 251 for the second wicket after Mohammad Hafeez had again failed to excel when he was leg-before-wicket to Abdur Rauf for an 11-ball duck. But Salman and Nasir carried the score to 277 before Salman was caught by Yasir Arafat Junior off spinner Jalat Khan. He hit 28 boundaries and one six off 164 balls. Nasir and Misbah-ul-Haq further strengthened Punjab’s domination until Nasir was forced to retire hurt with the total on 364-2. The young left-hander’s 176-ball knock contained 14 fours and three sixes, while facing 176 balls.

However, Misbah maintained the momentum of quick scoring as he smashed four sixes and five fours in reaching 82 by stumps. The other batsman at the crease was Ammar Mahmood (10).

Earlier, Balochistan added 77 to their overnight total of 298-7. Wicket-keeper/batsman Gulraiz Sadaf contributed a handy 55. Hafeez claimed two more wickets to finish with three for 60.

Scoreboard

BALOCHISTAN (1st Innings, overnight 298-7):

Yasir Arafat Jr b Wahab 62

Usman Tariq run out 8

Rameez Alam b Hafeez 84

Saeed bin Nasir lbw b Rehman 46

Naseem Khan c Kamran b Wahab 5

Gulraiz Sadaf c and b Hafeez 55

Abdur Rauf b Junaid 15

Tanvir Ahmed c sub b Aizaz 0

Jalat Khan lbw b Hafeez 15

Imranullah Aslam st Kamran b Rehman 31

Azharullah not out 5

EXTRAS (B-13, LB-13, W-1, NB-22) 49

TOTAL (all out, 101.1 overs) 375

FALL OF WKTS: 1-21, 2-146, 3-208, 4-228, 5-241, 6-275, 7-298, 8-330, 9-349.

BOWLING: Wahab Riaz 19-2-54-2 (7nb); Aizaz Cheema 18-2-70-1; Abdul Rehman 25.1-6-74-2; Junaid Zia 15-2-65-1 (11nb, 1w); Shoaib Malik 9-1-26-0; Mohammad Hafeez 15-1-60-3.

PUNJAB (1st Innings):

Salman Butt c Yasir b Jalat 160

Mohammad Hafeez lbw b Rauf 0

Nasir Jamshed retired hurt 140

Misbah-ul-Haq not out 82

Ammar Mahmood not out 10

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-2, W-5, NB-22) 33

TOTAL (for two wkts, 76 overs) 425

FALL OF WKTS: 1-26, 2-277.

TO BAT: Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Rehman, Junaid Zia, Wahab Riaz, Aizaz Cheema.

BOWLING (to-date): Abdur Rauf 6-0-47-1 (9nb); Tanvir Ahmed 5-0-47-0 (6nb); Azharullah 8-1-38-0; Jalat Khan 28-2-123-1 (7nb, 5w); Imranullah Aslam 27-0-147-0; Usman Tariq 1-0-8-0; Saeed bin Nasir 1-0-9-0.

NOTE: Nasir Jamshed retired hurt at 364-2.