KARACHI: Lahore Blues celebrated their first win in the PCB Inter-region Under-19 One-day Cricket Tournament when an unbeaten 71 from Safeer Azam helped them defeat Quetta by seven wickets at the UBL Sports Complex here on Thursday.

Wasim Khan grabbed five wickets for 27 runs as Quetta were all out for 180 in 47 overs before Lahore Blues — who lost to Bahawalpur by 29 runs in Monday’s opening round — got home in the 45th over.

Khurram Taj struck 70 not out as Karachi Whites scored their second successive success in Group ‘A’ by cantering to a nine-wicket rout of Larkana at the NBP Sports Complex.

Hyderabad also made it two victories on the trot with a six-wicket triumph against Bahawalpur at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.

Ahmed Shafiq claimed four wickets for only seven runs while guiding Lahore Whites to an emphatic 179-run win over Dera Murad Jamali in the Group ‘B’ fixture at the LCCA Ground in Lahore. Chasing 259, Dera Murad Jamali crashed to 79 all out inside 33 overs.

In a close finish, Sialkot overcame Multan by three wickets at the Jinnah Stadium in Gujranwala while Group ‘B’s third match saw paceman Shadab Khan take 5-19 as Rawalpindi whip Abbottabad by eight wickets at the Lahore Country Club Ground in Muridke.

Karachi Blues enjoyed a comfortable seven-wicket victory in their Group ‘C’ meeting with hosts Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground.

Faisalabad decimated Azad Jammu Kashmir by 10 wickets at the Marghazar Cricket Ground while the third fixture in the federal capital, between Peshawar and Fata, at the National Ground was abandoned without a ball being bowled owing to wet playing conditions following overnight rain.

Thursday’s results:

Second round:

Group ‘A’:

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: Karachi Whites beat Larkana by nine wickets.

LARKANA 141 in 38.5 overs (Abdul Waqas 46, Ghulam Abbas 25; Fahaddis Bukhari 2-21, Abdullah Hamza 2-32); KARACHI WHITES 144-1 in 23.5 overs (Khurram Taj 70 not out, Ahmed Alam 45 not out).

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: Lahore Blues beat Quetta by seven wickets.

QUETTA 180 in 47 overs (Shahzad 35, Israr Ahmed 22, Zainullah 20; Wasim Khan 5-27, Asif Gondal 2-27); LAHORE BLUES 181-3 in 44.3 overs (Safeer Azam 71 not out, Mohammad Saleem 37; Imran Khan 3-27).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: Hyderabad beat Bahawalpur by six wickets.

BAHAWALPUR 176 in 49.5 overs (Mustafa Kamal 60 not out, Mohammad Umair 35, Sajid Iqbal 24; Daniyal Ahsan 2-25, Mukhtar Ali 2-26, Ibtesam Sheikh 2-31, Asad Malik 2-51); HYDERABAD 181-4 in 42.4 overs (Kamran Rehmani 48, Daniyal Hussain 39 not out, Azhar Abbas 38 not out, Mohammad Suleman 36)

Group ‘B’:

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: Lahore Whites beat Dera Murad Jamali by 179 runs.

LAHORE WHITES 258-8 in 50 overs (Gohar Hafeez 72, Mohammad Aamir 68, Hannan Rafiq 42, Salman Fayyaz 39; Aftab Ahmed 2-46, Saeed Ahmed 2-51); DERA MURAD JAMALI 79 in 32.3 overs (Bilal Ahmed 34; Ahmed Shafiq 4-7, Ghulam Murtaza 2-10, Mohammad Umar 2-29)

At Jinnah Stadium, Gujranwala: Sialkot beat Multan by three wickets.

MULTAN 239 in 50 overs (Ahmed Sultan 75, Umar Sadiq 68, Yousuf Babar 38; Sadiq Ali 2-23) SIALKOT 241-7 in 49.1 overs (Abdur Rehman 53, Saif Badar 42, Nafees Ahmed 39, Ashar Hafeez 35; Irfan Liaquat 4-44, Shahbaz Wahlan 2-44).

At Lahore Country Club Ground, Muridke: Rawalpindi beat Abbottabad by eight wickets.

ABBOTTABAD 103 in 34.4 overs (Mohammad Zohaib 29, Faizan Awan 21; Shadab Khan 5-19, Awais Iqbal 3-23); RAWALPINDI 104-2 in 21 overs (Umair Masood 57, Aman Arshad 29 not out).

Group ‘C’:

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Karachi Blues beat Islamabad by seven wickets.

ISLAMABAD 125 in 34.5 overs (Aun Abbas 29, Najam Khan 22; Ashar Qureshi 4-26, Mohammad Umar 2-18, Saif Ali Khan 2-34); KARACHI BLUES 130-3 in 19.3 overs (Hasan Mohsin 65, Azam Khan 32; Asjad Nawaz 2-29)

At Marghazar Cricket Ground, Islamabad: Faisalabad beat Azad Jammu Kashmir by 10 wickets.

AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 90 in 17.1 overs (Usman Tariq 45, Faisal Saeed 22; Ahmed Safi 4-6, Adeel Zafar 2-34); FAISALABAD 91-0 in 16 overs (Mohammad Umair 50 not out, Mohammad Umair 39 not out).

At National Ground, Islamabad: PESHAWAR v FATA — No play because of wet conditions.

Published in Dawn, September 4th, 2015

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