KARACHI: Gold League leaders Wapda pressed home their advantage through an Adnan Raees century to force Karachi Dolphins battling for survival in their Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship match here on Friday.

Replying to the measly 80 all out that the regional side mustered on Thursday, Wapda extended their overnight tally of 148-3 to 303 all out, giving them an assailable lead of 223 on the first innings at the halfway stage of the four-day match.

Left-handed Adnan, who struck an unbeaten 141 off 268 balls, was the dominant partner in the fourth-wicket stand of 141 in 194 minutes with Aamir Sajjad (68 off 115 balls, 11 fours and one six). His 15th first-class 100-plus knock contained 18 boundaries in a stay of six hours and 13 minutes.

Adeel Malik, the pick of Dolphins’ seamers, claimed four wickets for 79 runs in 29 overs with left-armer Mir Hamza taking 3-74 in 29 overs.

Facing eight overs before stumps, the Dolphins reached 25-0 while still needing 198 more to make Wapda bat again.

Meanwhile, National Bank cashed in gleefully on centuries from skipper Kamran Akmal and Akbar-ur-Rehman to earn a massive 322-run lead over Multan Tigers at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan.

Kamran and Akbar, who resumed at their respective scores of 66 and 54, added 198 for the fifth wicket as National Bank collected 390 all out in 96 overs.

Kamran, who had come into the match with a string of low scores (1, 13, 16 and 14), completed his 20th hundred in first-class cricket by making 126 off 156 balls with 18 boundaries.

Akbar remained undefeated with 113 (off 198 balls, 13 fours) which was his sixth three-figure innings. Hasnain Bukhari bagged 4-56 in 17 overs.

The Tigers ended the day at 137-3 in their second innings.

An unbroken partnership of 218 between skipper Saeed bin Nasir and Mohammad Wajihuddin led United Bank into an impregnable position against Lahore lions at the Marghazar Cricket ground in Islamabad.

Starting their response to the Lions’ 216 all out, United Bank closed the day at 358-4 with Saeed batting on 118 (192 balls) and Wajihuddin 109 (156 balls) after the pair got together at 140-4.

Saeed’s 23rd first-class ton included 11 fours, while Wajihuddin has so far hit 13 fours and a brace of two sixes during the course of his seventh century as United Bank lead by 142 runs.

Rawalpindi Rams matched Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL)’s first innings tally by making 205 all out at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.

Paceman Kashif Daud captured 5-65 before ZTBL went to stumps at 29-1 in their second innings.

Islamabad Leopards made 236 all out in reply to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL)’s 262 at the Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital.

The Leopards were in a great position to take the lead when Sarmad Bhatti (58) and captain Zohaib Ahmed (57) put on 111 for the sixth wicket but the fall of the last five wickets for nine runs ruined those aspirations.

SNGPL reached 2-0 in their second innings to hold an overall lead of 28 runs.

Discarded Test opener Khurram Manzoor and Umar Amin both missed centuries by just four runs as Port Qasim Authority (PQA) reached 270-5 after fast bowler Mohammad Sami (7-35 in 17 overs) had picked up his 57th five-for to send Peshawar Panthers reeling to 126 all out at the Arbab Niaz Stadium.

Khurram (96 off 138 balls, nine fours and one six) and the left-handed Umar (96 off 176, eight fours and one six) were involved in a second-wicket stand worth 153 as PQA enjoyed an overall lead of 310 by stumps.

Close of play scores on Friday (day two of four):

At National Stadium, Karachi: KARACHI DOLPHINS 80 in 23.2 overs (Yasir Hussain 26 not out; Waqas Maqsood 5-37, Mohammad Ali Bhutta 5-42) and 25-0 in 8 overs; WAPDA 303 in 96 overs (Adnan Raees 141, Aamir Sajjad 68; Adeel Malik 4-79, Mir Hamza 3-74, Yasir Hussain 2-72).

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: MULTAN TIGERS 68 in 28.2 overs (Zeeshan Ashraf 26; Hammad Azam 4-41, Ahmed Jamal 3-7, Zia-ul-Haq 2-19) and 137-3 in 41 overs (Ahmed Rasheed 63 not out); NATIONAL BANK 390 in 96 overs (Kamran Akmal 126, Akbar-u-Rehman 113 not out, Umar Waheed 41, Fawad Alam 33; Hasnain Bukhari 4-56, Sadaf Mehdi 3-127, Mohammad Irfan 2-85).

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: ZTBL 205 in 78.1 overs (Mohammad Khalil 67, Kashif Dawood 34; Rizwan Akbar 4-49,Tayyab Abbas 3-71) and 29-1 in 12 overs; RAWALPINDI RAMS 205 in 67 overs (Naved Malik 58, Zahid Mansoor 48, Usman Saeed 35, Kashif Dawood 5-65, Mohammad Khalil 3-54).

At Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad: LAHORE LIONS 216 in 82.2 overs (Umar Siddique 48, Waqas Saleem 43, Arsalan Bajwa 30; Rumman Raees Khan 4-48, Ali Zahid 2-28, Adil Raza 2-42); UNITED BANK 358-4 in 89.3 overs (Saeed bin Nasir 118 not out, Mohammad Wajihuddin 109 not out, Ahsan Ali 50, Ammar Hasan 41; Mohammad Saeed 2-85).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: SNGPL 262 in 73.3 overs (Ali Waqas 83, Imran Butt 72, Mohammad Rizwan 48; Shahzad Azam 7-82, Zohaib Ahmed 2-56) and 2-0 in 2.3 overs; ISLAMABAD LEOPARDS 236 in 72.2 overs (Sarmad Bhatti 58, Zohaib Ahmed 57, Ali Sarfraz 35; Imran Ali 3-33, Imran Khalid 3-46, Hussain Talat 2-39).

At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar: PORT QASIM AUTHORITY 166 in 50.2 overs (Umar Amin 48, Shahzaib Hasan 36; Azizullah 5-50, Azam Khan 2-48, Afaq Ahmed 2-60) and 270-5 in 70 overs (Khurram Manzoor 96, Umar Amin 96, Shahzaib Hasan 35; Akbar Badshah 2-68); PESHAWAR PANTHERS 126 in 39.4 overs (Gohar Ali 53 not out; Mohammad Sami 7-35, Sohail Khan 2-19).

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2014