KARACHI: Opener Shoaib Nasir slammed an unbeaten century as Rawalpindi put themselves in driving seat against Islamabad on the third day of the Faysal Bank Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship final in Lahore on Tuesday.

Thanks to Shoaib’s 143, Rawalpindi reached 264-4 in their second innings to gain an overall lead of exactly 300 runs with two days of play left at the Gaddafi Stadium.

Resuming at 0-0, Rawalpindi lost Adnan Mahmood in the second over of the day when Junaid Nadir had the right-hander leg-before wicket. Haseeb Azam then partnered Shoaib in a stand of 62 before being caught at the wicket off Mudassar Ali for 11.

Rawalpindi then suffered another quick loss shortly afterwards when the burly Naved Malik fell to Shehzad Rana, the seamer who had been sidelined by injury in the first innings. Naved scored 13.

At that stage Islamabad had done well with their spirited comeback but Rawalpindi then seized the initiative through the left-handed partnership of Shoaib and captain Babar Naeem who together garnered 159 runs for the fourth wicket in 165 minutes.

On the way Shoaib, who amply made amends for his second-ball duck in the first innings, completed a third century in the 20th first-class appearance and soon bettered his previous best score of 112.

The 30-year-old was lucky to earn a reprieve when wicket-keeper Mohammad Kashif dropped a relative easy catch off Junaid with his score on 112.

But he regained his composure to see the day off after having hit 20 fours and a brace of sixes during his 240-ball innings.

Babar, however, was dismissed by Sarmad Bhatti in the closing overs after striking eight fours and a solitary six in his 120-ball knock of 75.

Awais Zia, who played in three Twenty20 Internationals against England in 2012 as an opener, once again came to bat lower down.

Top-scorer in the first innings with 76, Awais had made 10 when stumps were drawn for the day as the weary Islamabad fielders went off the field with a state of resign clearly on their faces.

Scoreboard

RAWALPINDI (1st Innings) 211 (Awais Zia 76, Zahid Mahmood 60, Naved Malik 33; Junaid Nadir 4-49m Mudassar Ali 4-67, Shehzad Azam Rana 2-8).

ISLAMABAD (1st Innings) 175 (Afaq Raheem 85; Nasir Malik 4-68, Akhtar Ayub 3-55, 2-41).

RAWALPINDI (2nd Innings, overnight

0-0):

Shoaib Nasir not out 143

Adnan Mahmood lbw b Junaid 0

Haseeb Azam c Kashif b Mudassar 11

Naved Malik c Afaq b Shehzad 13

Babar Naeem c Kashif b Sarmad 75

Awais Zia not out 10

EXTRAS (B-7, LB-2, W-3) 12

TOTAL (for four wkts, 81 overs) 264

FALL OF WKTS: 1-2, 2-64, 3-82, 4-241.

BOWLING (to-date): Junaid Nadir

19-4-51-1 (1w); Mudassar Ali 13-6-24-1; Shehzad Azam Rana 20-5-58-1 (1w); Imad Wasim 15-0-59-0; Afaq Raheem 5-1-28-0 (1w); Sarmad Bhatti 5-2-11-1; Moed Ahmed 4-0-24-0.