KARACHI: National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) needed just over two hours to wrap up a clinical defeat of Karachi Whites in their third-round Pool ‘B’ Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship fixture at the National Stadium here on Thursday.

In the only other match to yield an outright result on the fourth and final day saw Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) outclass their Pool ‘A’ rivals Hyderabad at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad, while the remaining four games were all drawn.

Resuming their second innings at 96-4, Karachi Whites adopted an aggressive approach for a change as they added 119 runs before being dismissed for 215 three minutes into the extended time before lunch was taken to leave NBP winners by an innings and 23 runs and regaining their place at top of the standings with 23 points, after Khan Research Laboratories (15 points) had gone to the top on Wednesday following their 10-wicket success against Fata.

NBP’s other win came in the first round when they had outplayed Lahore Whites by innings and 12 runs, earning a bonus point in the process as they have done against Karachi Whites who suffered their first defeat in the championship after obtaining three points each against Wapda and Habib Bank in the previous two rounds.

Saad Ali was the sole exception as wickets tumbled around him. The left-handed former Pakistan U-19 batsman batted well to reach his second half-century of the match, top-scoring for second time here with 62 off 101 balls with 10 boundaries until he was seventh out at 173, while miscuing a pull against paceman Ahmed Jamal and was caught at mid-off via a leading edge.

Mohammad Nawaz’s occasional left-arm spin fetched him figures of 3-34. Left-arm seamer Zia-ul-Haq claimed 3-83 to finish with match figures of 9-123, while slow left-armer Mohammad Asghar took 2-40.

SNGPL wasted no time against Hyderabad by declaring their second innings at the overnight total of 303-8 to leave the regional side with a daunting target of 364 in 86 overs.

Slow left-armer Imran Khalid snared five wickets for 62 runs in 25.1 overs as Hyderabad were dismissed for 210 at the start of the 70th over. Azeem Ghumman, reportedly one of the culprits in the Umar Akmal affair, scored 51 while Rizwan Ahmed hit an unbeaten 44.

SNGPL’s first victory of the season lifted them to second spot in Pool ‘A’ with 15 points, five behind leaders UBL, who enjoyed an off-day following their crushing win by innings and 206 runs against Lahore Blues in less than three days.

Lahore Whites, who made 344 in their first innings, grabbed their first points by bowling out Wapda for 275 in the drawn game at the LCCA Ground. Mohammad Saad excelled for the departmental outfit with 125 (227 balls, 16 fours and two sixes).

Burly seamer Fahad Masood captured 4-55 runs in 20.1 overs. Umar Farooq marked his first-class debut with tidy figures of 3-35 in 14 overs with medium-pacers.

Mukhtar Ahmed, who was omitted from the T20 squad for the upcoming England series, then utilised the remaining time to blast 10 fours and a brace of sixes in a 106-ball knock of 75 as Lahore Whites reached 139-4 in the second innings.

Rawalpindi took three points against Habib Bank after the last day of their fixture at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi was restricted to just 9.4 overs because of bad weather and during which the regional team collected 34-1 in the second innings.

The fourth day at the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar was abandoned without a ball being delivered, leaving hosts Peshawar and SSGC taking one point each.

Similarly, Islamabad and Port Qasim Authority were also forced to take a point apiece after play at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad was curtailed to only 17 overs on Thursday.

Scores and results on Thursday (final day of four):

Third round:

Pool ‘A’:

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: SNGPL beat Hyderabad by 153 runs.

SUI NORTHERN GAS PIPELINES LIMITED 331 in 78.4 overs (Taufiq Umar 67, Imran Butt 58, Imran Khalid 51, Adnan Akmal 36, Abu Bakar Khan 23; Hazrat Shah 3-82, Kashif Bhatti 2-64, Babar Khan 2-67) and 303-8 declared in 72 overs (Adnan Akmal 55, Imran Butt 49, Umar Akmal 44, Hussain Talat 40, Imran Khalid 24; Sajjad Hussain 2-42, Kashif Bhatti 2-85); HYDERABAD 271 in 92.5 overs (Shoaib Leghari 78, Kashif Bhatti 58, Faisal Athar 55, Azeem Ghumman 21; Asad Ali 4-34, Hussain Talat 2-35, Bilawal Bhatti 2-48, Imran Khalid 2-118) and 210 in 69.1 overs (Azeem Ghumman 51, Rizwan Ahmed 44 not out, Shoaib Leghari 32, Zeeshan Gul 28; Imran Khalid 5-62).

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Match drawn.

ISLAMABAD 326 in 91.5 overs (Abid Ali 136, Shahid Yousuf 70, Zohaib Ahmed 28, Naeem Anjum 23; Zohaib Shera 5-126, Mohammad Sami 3-38); PORT QASIM AUTHORITY 114-2 in 31 overs (Faraz Ali 57 not out, Khalid Latif 33 not out; Shehzad Azam Rana 2-36).

At Arbab Niaz Stadium, Peshawar: Match drawn (no play on day four due to rain).

PESHAWAR 246 in 75.4 overs (Akbar Badshah 53, Israrullah 48, Adil Amin 25, Zohaib Khan 25, Musadiq Ahmed 25; Tabish Khan 3-65, Mohammad Amir 3-68, Sohail Khan 2-67); SUI SOUTHERN GAS COMPANY 117-4 in 36.1 overs (Asif Zakir 47 not out, Wajid Ali 29 not out; Shah Faisal 3-14).

Pool ‘B’:

At National Stadium, Karachi: National Bank of Pakistan beat Karachi Whites by an innings and 23 runs.

KARACHI WHITES 227 in 105.5 overs (Mohammad Hasan 73, Saad Ali 60, Jaahid Ali 47, Mohammad Waqas 20; Zia-ul-Haq 6-40) and 215 in 69 overs (Saad Ali 62, Mohammad Waqas 38, Salman Zaib 32; Mohammad Nawaz 3-34, Zia-ul-Haq 3-83, Mohammad Asghar 2-40); NATIONAL BANK OF PAKISTAN 465-4 declared in 102.3 overs (Fawad Alam 224 not out, Umar Waheed 125, Akbar-ur-Rehman 103 not out; Sohaib Khan 2-116).

At LCCA Ground, Lahore: Match drawn.

LAHORE WHITES 344 in 115.2 overs (Anas Mahmood 70, Usman Salahuddin 59, Mukhtar Ahmed 49, Sami Aslam 46, Mohammad Waheed 40, Asfand Mehran 28; Junaid Khan 4-94, Mohammad Irfan 3-67) and 139-4 in 46 overs (Mukhtar Ahmed 75, Anas Mahmood 43); WAPDA 275 in 82.1 overs (Mohammad Saad 125, Adnan Raees 44, Bismillah Khan 24, Iftikhar Ahmed 21; Fahad Masood 4-55, Umar Farooq 3-35, Mohammad Waheed 2-73).

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi:

RAWALPINDI 183 in 41.4 overs (Naved Yasin 76, Babar Naeem 50; Ammad Butt 5-34, Umar Gul 2-59) and 34-1 in 9.4 overs (Naved Malik 30 not out); HABIB BANK LIMITED 181 in 54.3 overs (Imran Farhat 58, Jamal Anwar 32; Sohail Tanvir 4-54, Yasir Arafat 4-56).

Published in Dawn, November 13th, 2015

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