KARACHI: Pakistan Television (PTV) staged a great fightback after seeing Karachi Zebras take a 70-run lead on the first innings in their Silver League fixture of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship at the NBP Sports Complex here on Sunday.

The Zebras, who began the second day of the four-day tie at 257-8, were dismissed for 261 with paceman taking the last wickets to end up with four for 48 in 23.3 overs. Captain Owais Ahmed Rehmani was left stranded unbeaten on 89 (147 balls, 10 fours).

PTV then were bowled out for 191 despite Nawaz Ahmed hitting 93 (207 balls, eight boundaries). Leg-spinner Mansoor Ahmed snared five wickets for 45 runs in 20 overs.


Shahzar makes history with maiden century


But batting again, the Zebras found themselves in real strife at 30-5 with Abbas responsible for three wickets.

Shahzar Mohammad, the 22-year-old son of former Pakistan batsman Shoaib Mohammad and grandson of the country’s greatest batsman of the 20th century Hanif Mohammad, created history by scoring his maiden first-class century as Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) batted themselves into a commanding position against Hyderabad Hawks.

Replying to the Hawks’ 173 at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad, PIA amassed 413-7 to enjoy a huge lead of 240. Opener Shahzar, with a previous best score of 70 in 23 matches, emulated both his father and grandfather by reaching three figures in a patient innings of 107 in 302 minutes. His 213-ball knock included 13 fours and his second-wicket stand with Fahad Iqbal (63) was worth 143 runs.

Faisal Iqbal struck five boundaries in making a 124-ball 58, while Shoaib Khan was batting with 80 (146 balls, 10 fours) when stumps were drawn for the day.

Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) closed in on a crushing victory after reducing Faisalabad Wolves to 1-2 in their second innings at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Resuming at 142-4 in reply to the Wolves’ meagre tally of 118, SSGC declared at 461-9 after building a huge lead of 343. Veteran all-rounder Tariq Haroon hit only his second first-class ton in 70 games by striking 137 from 207 balls with 15 fours and four sixes as he and fast bowler Tabish Khan put together an eight-wicket partnership of 182 in 176 minutes. Tabish slammed a career-best 67 (133 balls, three sixes, three fours).

Pakistan discard Imran Farhat sent out another emphatic reminder to the national selectors with his 29th first-class century. The left-handed opener led from the front to help Habib Bank collect 316 in their first innings in response to Abbottabad Falcons’ 185 at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium in Abbottabad.

Imran’s 113 off 145 balls contained 18 boundaries.

Abbottabad, starting their second innings with a deficit of 131, then collapsed to 56-5 with Pakistan paceman Umar Gul taking two wickets to add to his five on Saturday.

Naved Yasin, the 27-year-old left-hander, scored a career-best 173 (226 balls, 16 boundaries) to help State Bank declare their first innings at 525-6 against Bahawalpur Stags at the Dring Stadium in Bahawalpur before the hosts reached 128-3.

Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) earned a modest lead of 52 runs when Quetta Bears curtailed them to 220 all out at the KRL Stadium in Rawalpindi. The Bears then went to stumps at 23-1 in their second turn.

Close of play scores on Sunday (day two of four): Group-I:

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: KARACHI ZEBRAS 261 in 93.3 overs (Owais Ahmed Rehmani 89 not out, Ahmed Iqbal 41; Mohammad Abbas 4-48, Usman Ashraf 3-59) and 30-5 in 11 overs (Mohammad Abbas 3-14, Ali Raza Jr 2-15); PAKISTAN TELEVISION 191 in 70.3 overs (Nawaz Ahmed 93; Mansoor Ahmed 5-45, Abdul Latif 2-30, Zohaib Shera 2-44).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: HYDERABAD HAWKS 173 in 58.3 overs (Zeeshan Gul 50; Tahir Khan 3-30, Kamran Sajid 2-12, Ali Imran 2-35); PIA 413-7 in 111 overs (Shahzar Mohammad 107, Shoaib Khan 80 not out, Fahad Iqbal 63, Faisal Iqbal 58; Mir Ali Talpur 2-68, Lal Kumar 2-70, Babar Khan 2-83).

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: QUETTA BEARS 168 in 77.2 overs (Shahzad Tareen 87; Sadaf Hussain 3-36, Yasir Ali 3-36) and 23-1 in 10 overs; KRL 220 in 76.5 overs (Saeed Anwar Jr 40; Nazar Hussain 3-34, Arun Lal 3-58, Gohar Faiz 2-40).

Group-II:

At Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur: STATE BANK 525-6 declared in 133 overs (Naved Yasin 173, Mukhtar Ahmed 144, Aamir Yamin 65 not out, Rizwan Haider 60; Wasim Mustafa 2-129, Zahid Siddiqui 2-132, Imranullah Aslam 2-140); BAHAWALPUR STAGS 128-3 in 42 overs (Adeel Basit 60 not out).

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: FAISALABAD WOLVES 118 in 45 overs (Fahim Ashraf 34; Mohammad Irfan 4-19, Tabish Khan 4-29, Osama Basharat 2-19) and 1-2 in 1.4 overs; SSGC 461-9 declared in 125 overs (Tariq Haroon 137, Tabish Khan 67, Asif Zakir 62, Mohammad Waqas 60, Saifullah Khan Bangash 45; Sadaqat Ali 4-156, Fahim Ashraf 2-89).

At Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad: ABBOTTABAD FALCONS 185 in 55.4 overs (Umar Nawaz 49, Shakeel Ahmed 43; Umar Gul 5-41, Abdul Ameer 2-35, Abdur Rehman 2-40) and 56-5 in 17 overs (Umar Gul 2-16, Sarmad Anwar 2-16; HABIB BANK 316 in 81.1 overs (Imran Farhat 113, Hasan Raza 47; Shakeel Ahmed 5-42, Haris Khan 3-85, Ikramullah Khan 2-84).

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2014

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