KARACHI: Lahore Lions finally ended their wretched run in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship on Tuesday when they humiliated arch-rivals Karachi Dolphins in less than two days of the eighth-round Gold League fixture at the LCCA Ground in Lahore.

After securing a healthy first-innings lead of 104 by taking their overnight total from 142-4 to 236 all out, the Lions’ pace trio of Malik Aftab (4-65), Bilawal (3-31) and Mohammad Saeed (3-34) needed only 27.4 overs to bowl out the Dolphins for 135 in the second innings.

Wicket-keeper Farhan Khan was the mainstay of Lions batting after they lost Raza Ali Dar (27) and Mustafa Iqbal (0) without adding to their Monday’s tally. Farhan was last out for a 75-ball 63 which included a dozen boundaries.

Adeel Malik was the main wicket-taker for the visitors with five for 83 in 21 overs.

Lions’ first win earned them nine points.

Rawalpindi Rams are likely to seal a three-day win on Wednesday after bundling out Multan Tigers for just 70 to gain a handy lead of 67 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi.

By stumps, the home side had pressed home their dominance as they collected 189-8 in the second innings to hold an overall lead of 256.

Daniyal Ahsan slammed an unbeaten 122 (243 balls, 16 fours) to help Port Qasim Authority (PQA) reach 379 in their first innings after they had resumed at 259-7 against Wapda at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Azam Hussain (49) added 102 for the eighth wicket with Daniyal, whose previous first-class score was 90.

Wapda then lost three wickets to ex-Pakistan paceman Abdur Rauf before reaching stumps at 111-3.

SNGPL put themselves in driving seat by dismissing ZTBL for 138 to claim a substantial lead of 168 on the first innings at the Marghazar Cricket Ground in Islamabad.

Earlier, Khurram Shehzad completed his eighth century in first-class cricket by making 109 (206 balls, 18 fours) as SNGPL were all out for 306 after resuming the second day at 214-6. Bilawal Bhatti hit 41 and helped Khurram add 63 for the seventh wicket.

United Bank overcame the early loss of opener Hamza Paracha (2) to post 139-1 in a fitting response to National Bank’s 451 all out at the Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital.

Umair Khan (62) and the left-handed former Pakistan batsman Ali Asad (74) have so far put on 137 for the second wicket.

Tailenders Usman Qadir and Raza Hasan both registered their highest scores as the last three National Bank wickets added 118 to the total. Usman, son of ex-Pakistan leggie Abdul Qadir, hit 52 while Raza contributed 57.

Peshawar Panthers faced a tall order after struggling to 101-3 in reply to Islamabad Leopards’ 402 all out at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar.

Faizan Riaz was the Leopards’ hero with a fine 114 (182 balls, eight fours and one six) after the visitors had began their overnight innings at 230-4.

Close of play scores and result on Tuesday (day two of four):

At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: PORT QASIM AUTHORITY 379 in 118.3 overs (Daniyal Ahsan 122 not out, Mohammad Sami 75, Azam Hussain 49, Shahzaib Hasan 38, Khalid Latif 31, Sohail Khan 25; Mohammad Ali Bhutta 3-63, Azhar Attari 3-117, Mohammad Haseeb 2-95); WATER AND POWER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 111-3 in 41 overs (Aamir Sajjad 38 not out, Adnan Raees 26 not out; Abdur Rauf 3-37).

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: Lahore Lions beat Karachi Dolphins by nine wickets.

KARACHI DOLPHINS 132 in 34.5 overs (Yasir Mushtaq 20; Malik Aftab 4-27, Mohammad Saeed 4-47, Bilawal 2-50) and 135 in 27.4 overs (Rameez Raja 39, Fazal Subhan 25; Malik Aftab 4-65, Bilawal 3-31, Mohammad Saeed 3-34); LAHORE LIONS 236 in 65.4 overs (Farhan Khan 63, Umar Siddique 44, Agha Salman 38, Raza Ali Dar 27; Adeel Malik 5-83, Mir Hamza 2-45, Shahzaib Ahmed Khan 2-69).

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: RAWALPINDI RAMS 137 in 44.1 overs (Zahid Mansoor 40, Usman Saeed 29; Majid Ali 5-46, Mohammad Asif 3-41, Mohammad Irfan 2-44) and 189-8 in 48.3 overs (Usman Saeed 65 not out, Mohammad Irfan 3-45, Mohammad Asif 3-59); MULTAN TIGERS 70 in 45 overs (Ammar Ali 23; Rashid Latif 4-22, Haseeb Azam 2-16, Rizwan Akbar 2-25).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: NATIONAL BANK 451-9 declared in 120.3 overs (Umar Waheed 120, Mohammad Nawaz 98, Raza Hasan 57, Usman Qadir 52, Kamran Akmal 24; Ali Zahid 4-119, Adil Raza 2-94); UNITED BANK 139-1 in 47 overs (Ali Asad 74 not out, Umair Khan 62 not out).

At Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad: SUI NORTHERN GAS PIPELINES LIMITED 306 in 101.5 overs (Khurram Shehzad 109, Ali Waqas 47, Bilawal Bhatti 41, Naeemuddin 29; Sajjad Hussain 3-69, Karamat Ali 2-36, Rao Iftikhar 2-84, Rehan Riaz 2-87) and 4-0 in 3 overs; ZARAI TARAQIATI BANK LIMITED 138 in 34 overs (Karamat Ali 26 not out; Bilawal Bhatti 3-31, Samiullah Khan Niazi 3-48, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 2-1).

At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar: ISLAMABAD LEOPARDS 402 in 135.1 overs (Faizan Riaz 114, Mohammad Irfan 99, Ali Sarfraz 67, Zohaib Ahmed 29, Sarmad Bhatti 25; Taj Wali 4-115, Azizullah 3-109, Jibran Khan 2-75); PESHAWAR PANTHERS 101-3 in 29.4 overs (Adil Amin 33 not out, Mehran Ibrahim 31; Zohaib Ahmed 2-28).

Published in Dawn, November 26th, 2014