KARACHI: Port Qasim Authority (PQA) took another step towards Gold League final of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Natio­nal Cricket Championship by taking a vital lead on the first innings against SNGPL in their penultimate-round fixture at the National Stadium here on Monday.

Replying to the leaders’ total of 278, PQA extended their overnight tally of 208-5 to 307 all out and in the process earned a 29-run lead on the second day of the four-day game.

But SNGPL then responded very well to reach 181-1 in their second innings, while putting themselves in front by 152 runs when play ended because of inferior light nine overs early.

In-form Naeemuddin (75 off 153 balls, 10 boundaries) and skipper Azhar Ali (61 off 127, seven fours) have so far added 118 in their unfinished partnership.

Earlier, captain Khalid Latif and Daniyal Ahsan both completed their half-centuries. Khalid scored a 94-ball 51 with eight fours while Daniyal contributed a 109-ball 55 that included seven boundaries.

Leg-spinner Yasir Shah dismissed Daniyal to finish with figures of 4-110 in 34 overs while paceman Asad Ali took 3-76 in 23 overs.

Fawad Alam continued his brilliant form in the championship by scoring 164 as National Bank of Pakistan piled up 416-9 declared in reply to ZTBL’s first-innings score of 323 at the NBP Sports Complex.

The left-hander, overlooked for the opening two one-dayers of the series against New Zealand, reached 164 (242 balls, 15 fours and one six) after resuming on 69 in his team’s score of 238-4.

Fawad, who had scored a double century in the championship, has now amassed 685 runs in seven matches at 85.62 with Monday’s ton being his 23rd in first-class cricket.

ZTBL, starting their second innings 93 runs behind, nosedived to 135-7 with defeat staring in their face on Tuesday.

United Bank’s stand-in Ali Asad played the role of saviour for the second time in three days against Wapda at the UBL Sports Complex. The former Pakistan U-19 left-hander followed up his 91 in the first innings with an unbeaten 75 (202 balls, eight boundaries) as his side collected 143-5 to hold an overall lead of 208.

Earlier, Wapda were dismissed for 212 in their first innings after resuming at 185-8. Left-arm paceman Rumman Raees Khan captured 6-70 in 30 overs.

Rawalpindi Rams, meanwhile, sealed a seven-wicket win over Lahore Lions at the Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad in less than three days.

After bowling the Lions for 219 in their second innings with seamer Haseeb Azam taking 5-70, the Rams romped home by reaching 127-3.

Multan Tigers were also heading towards another heavy loss after stumbling to 154-7 after being set a mammoth 509 for victory by Islamabad Leopards at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Earlier, Imad Wasim carried his overnight score of 158 to 207 (325 balls, 27 fours and one six) as the Leopards were all out for 575 in their second innings.

Karachi Dolphins obtained a commanding lead of 254 by totalling 340 in their first innings against Peshawar Panthers on the second day of their fixture at the Arabian Sea Country Club.

Babar Hussain Agha was the main run-getter with 82 (109 balls, eight fours and one six) after the Dolphins began the day at 123-2. Yasir Mushtaq made 60 (196 balls, four fours and one six).

The Panthers were 56-1 in their second innings and still need 198 to avert innings defeat.

Close of play scores and result on Monday (day three of four):

At National Stadium, Karachi: SNGPL 278 in 91.2 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 105, Ali Waqas 56, Imran Butt 51, Azhar Ali 34; Sohail Khan 5-124, Abdur Rauf 2-49) and 181-1 in 51 overs (Naeemuddin 75 not out, Azhar Ali 61 not out); PORT QASIM AUTHORITY 307 in 102 overs (Umar Amin 60, Daniyal Ahsan 55, Khalid Latif 51, Faraz Ali 41, Mohammad Waqas 30, Khurram Manzoor 25; Yasir Shah 4-110, Asad Ali 3-76).

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: UNITED BANK 277 in 103.1 overs (Ali Asad 91, Mohammad Wajihuddin 55 not out, Umair Khan 35; Mohammad Irfan 6-60, Azhar Attari 3-72) and 143-5 in 75 overs (Ali Asad 75 not out; Azhar Attari 3-27); WAPDA 212 in 83 overs (Waqas Maqsood 43 not out, Adnan Raees 35, Ali Azmat 29; Rumman Raees Khan 6-70, Mohammad Ali 3-38).

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: ZTBL 323 in 113.2 overs (Shahid Yousuf 115, Yasir Hameed 59, Sharjeel Khan 43, Ammar Mahmood 39, Zohaib Khan 38; Mohammad Asghar 5-89, Zia-ul-Haq 3-81) and 135-7 in 43 overs (Zohaib Khan 52 not out, Yasir Hameed 32, Kashif Daud 25; Zia-ul-Haq 2-25, Mohammad Nawaz 2-32, Mohammad Asghar 2-49); NATIONAL BANK 416-9 declared in 64 overs (Fawad Alam 164, Mohammad Nawaz 102, Usman Qadir 40, Akbar-ur-Rehman 31, Ahmed Jamal 25; Sajjad Hussain 4-83, Rao Iftikhar 2-62).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: Rawalpindi Rams beat Lahore Lions by seven wickets.

LAHORE LIONS 129 in 47.1 overs (Raza Ali Dar 42, Umar Siddique 30; Abid Hasan 6-47, Baber Naeem 3-12) and 219 in 77 overs (Umar Siddique 51, Agha Salman 42, Raza Ali Dar 41; Haseeb Azam 5-70, Babar Naeem 3-20); RAWALPINDI RAMS 222 in 53 overs (Sarmad Hameed 42, Yasim Murtaza 34, Munir Ansari 31, Haseeb Azam 27, Usman Saeed 26, Zahid Mansoor 25; Malik Aftab 5-79, Bilawal 3-66) and 127-3 in 30.3 overs (Sarmad Hameed 58 not out, Zahid Mansoor 30 not out; Aftab Azwar 2-47).

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: ISLAMABAD LEOPARDS 54 in 14.1 overs (Mohammad Asif 8-19, Sadaif Mehdi 2-24) and 575 in 138.3 overs (Imad Wasim 207, Faizan Riaz 158, Ali Sarfraz 71, Salman Haider 36, Sarmad Bhatti 26; Sadaif Mehdi 5-158, Mohammad Asif 4-151); MULTAN TIGERS 121 in 35 overs (Gulraiz Sadaf 24; Hamza Nadeem 4-41, Zohaib Ahmed 4-51) and 154-7 in 40 overs (Kashif Naved 60, Gulraiz Sadaf 35 not out; Zohaib Ahmed 4-52, Hamza Nadeem 3-54).

At Arabian Sea Country Club, Karachi (day two): PESHAWAR PANTHERS 86 in 30.3 overs (Musadiq Ahmed 27; Shahzaib Ahmed Khan 6-24, Mir Hamza 3-35) and 56-1 in 15 overs (Ashfaq Ahmed 31 not out); KARACHI DOLPHINS 340 in 129.2 overs (Babar Hussain Agha 82, Yasir Mushtaq 60, Mohammad Waqas 38, Majid Khan 37, Fazal Subhan 32; Aimal Khan 3-77, Azizullah 2-57).

Published in Dawn December 9th , 2014