KARACHI, Jan 12: PIA had to settle for just three points after Habib Bank’s Khaqan Arsal scored an unbeaten century on the final day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship match at the UBL Sports Complex here on Monday.

Habib Bank, handicapped by a minor toe injury to skipper Younis Khan, opted to play safe instead of going for the runs having resumed their second innings at 35-1 after being set a tough 385-run chase for victory. They closed at 249-5 when the match was called off with mutual consent.

Khaqan played the ideal innings to guide his side to safety as he struck 12 fours and one six in scoring 104 off 227 balls during a stay of 309 minutes.

Ahmed Shahzad, with whom Khaqan added 110 for the third wicket, hit nine boundaries in making 73 off 155 deliveries before the young right-handed opener tried to smash left-arm paceman Najaf Shah over the top but fell to a well-judged at mid-on by a leaping Khurram Manzoor.

Nasir Jamshed, who was overlooked from the Pakistan squad for the first of three One-day Internationals against Sri Lanka, bagged a pair as National Bank drew their game against the SSGC at the NBP Sports Complex.

Nasir’s left-handed opening partner Salman Butt, however, managed to score 39 – his highest score in six innings of the ongoing competition — after collecting four ducks in previous five innings.

After being set an improbable target of 388, National Bank reached 204-3 in the second innings with Naumanullah (75 off 99 balls, seven fours) and Fawad Alam (37) putting on 93 for the unbroken fourth-wicket partnership.

Pakistan Customs also batted their way to safety against Karachi Whites by batting throughout the day to reach 312 for eight in the second innings at the Quaid-i-Azam Park in Steel Township.

Customs’ saviour was Mohammad Sami — not to be confused with the pace bowler of the same name who played Tests and One-day Internationals for Pakistan until he opted to play in the rebel Indian Cricket League last year — a 24-year-old bearded right-handed batsman from Faisalabad.

Sami battled for almost six hours to score 96 off 281 balls with 10 boundaries until he was bowled by slow left-armer Azam Hussain. Off-spinner Misbah Khan claimed four for 111 to end up with match figures of eight for 183.

Meanwhile, Lahore Ravi also secured a creditable draw after an undefeated knock of 124 from Ashraf Ali guided them to 374-8 in the second innings against Karachi Blues in the Group ‘B’ match at the National Stadium. Ashraf’s marathon 356-ball at the crease lasted seven hours and 24 minutes and featured 12 fours.

Our Sports Reporter adds from Lahore: Centuries from Aamir Sajjad and Bilal Khilji helped Wapda draw their Group ‘A’ fixture against Lahore Shalimar at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Aamir made 118 (145 balls, 17 fours) and the left-handed Bilal an unbeaten 116 (178 balls, 18 fours) as Wapda reached 303-6 in their second innings after conceding a first-innings lead of 147 runs.

Sialkot surged to the top of Group ‘B’ standings after registering their straight win in as many matches by crushing the hapless Hyderabad by an innings and 186 runs at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot.

Hyderabad, who were 59-8 at the start of play on Monday, were bundled out for 102 in the second innings.

Scores and results on Monday (final day of four):

Pool ‘A’:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: Match drawn.

PIA 200 in 69.4 overs (Shoaib Malik 63) and 355-5 declared in 100 overs (Khurram Manzoor 151, Shoaib Malik 100 not out, Faisal Iqbal 50); HABIB BANK 171 in 61.4 overs (Shahid Afridi 73; Aizaz Cheema 6-52) and 249-5 in 85 overs (Khaqan Arsal 104 not out, Ahmed Shahzad 73). At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: Match drawn.

SSGC 390 in 133 overs (Wajid Ali 101, Saeed bin Nasir 70, Haris Ayaz 57) and 201 in 64.1 overs (Saeed bin Nasir 65; Uzair-ul-Haq 4-27); NATIONAL BANK 204 in 69.4 overs (Umar Amin 63, Fawad Alam 53; Sohail Khan 5-90) and 204-3 in 52 overs (Naumanullah 75 not out, Umar Amin 52).

At Quaid-i-Azam Park, Karachi: Match drawn.

PAKISTAN CUSTOMS 186 in 66.3 overs (Misbah Khan 4-72) and 312-8 in 114 overs (Mohammad Sami 96; Misbah Khan 4-111); KARACHI WHITES 368 in 149.5 overs (Asad Shafiq 73, Khalid Latif 73, Ali Asad 70, Tanvir Ahmed 56 not out; Fawad Ahmed 6-109).

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: Match drawn.

WAPDA 330 in 94.4 overs (Nawaz Sardar 147, Aamir Sajjad 53; Mohammad Naved 8-126) and 303-6 in 71 overs (Aamir Sajjad 118, Bilal Khilji 116 not out); LAHORE SHALIMAR 477-7 declared in 142 overs (Raza Ali 183, Abid Ali 141, Zulqarnain Haider 50 not out).

Pool ‘B’:

At National Stadium, Karachi: Match drawn.

LAHORE RAVI 222 in 70.4 overs (Shahnawaz Malik 104 not out; Babar Rehman 4-79) and 374-8 in 129 overs (Ashraf Ali 124 not out, Kashif Siddique 91, Rana Adnan 65); KARACHI BLUES 450 in 122.4 overs (Shazaib Hasan 156, Tabish Khan 57; Azam Khan 5-89).

At Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot: Sialkot beat Hyderabad by an innings and 186 runs.

HYDERABAD 252 in 90.5 overs (Aqeel Anjum 104) and 102 in 34 overs (Nadeem Javed 5-23, Sarmad Anwar 4-32); SIALKOT 540-9 declared in 115.4 overs (Naeemuddin 173, Kamran Younis 89, Nadeem Javed 61, Ayub Dogar 53; Naeem-ur-Rehman 4-120).