KARACHI: Faisalabad sprinted to their second successive win in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-II Cricket Tournament when they trounced Hyderabad by an innings and 76 runs on day two of the three-day Group ‘B’ fixture at the National Stadium here on Monday.

After Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq dominated Sunday’s opening day action with a workmanlike century, it turn of the Faisalabad bowlers create havoc for the hapless Hyderabad batsmen.

Resuming at 7-2 in reply to Faisalabad’s 285, Hyderabad were all out for 85 in 36.1 overs in their first innings with just Mohammad Awais (29) crossing the 20-run mark. The wrecker-in-chief was ex-international Samiullah Khan Niazi. The left-arm paceman added three more wickets to his overnight haul to finish with five for 30 in 11 overs.

Misbah immediately enforced the follow on and his decision was rewarded as Hyderabad folded up for 124 in 34 overs. Mir Darya Khan and skipper Rizwan Ahmed top-scored jointly with 29 apiece.

Right-arm paceman Naseer Akram followed up his two wickets in the first innings by grabbing five for 25 in 8.4 overs.

Dera Murad Jamali were in total control by reducing Quetta to 88-3 in the second innings after reaching 294-9 in the allocated first-innings quota of 83 overs at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.

Beginning the day at 131-3, Dera Murad Jamali ultimately built a decisive 173-run lead on the first innings. Abdul Rasheed (59), Najeebullah (58) and Abid Ali (51) were the chief run-getters.

Sialkot were closing in on victory as Bahawalpur slumped to 38-4 after seeing their formidable opponents take a 124-run lead. Ayaz Tasawwar was Sialkot’s mainstay with a 167-ball knock of 122 (13 fours and one six) as he and fellow left-hander Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti (63) added 115 for the fifth wicket.

In the other Group ‘A’ match at the Dring Stadium in Bahawalpur, Multan were battling for survival after Larkana took a surprise 79-run lead by bowling out their fancied rivals for 148.

The underdogs then consolidated their position by reaching 158-7 to have an overall lead of 247 heading into Tuesday’s third and final day.

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

Fourth round:

Group ‘A’:

At Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur: LARKANA 227 in 72 overs (Sadam Hussain 97, Samadullah 47, Asif Babar 25, Imtiaz Leghari 21; Sadaif Mehdi 4-38, Ali Usman 3-76) and 158-7 in 55 overs (Hamesh Kumar 51, Asif Babar 25, Imtiaz Leghari 23 not out; Ali Usman 4-42, Zia-ul-Haq 2-46); MULTAN 148 in 52.5 overs (Imran Rafiq 59 not out, Naved Yasin 26; Mohammad Urs 4-28, Imran Chandio 2-7, Imtiaz Leghari 2-27).

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: BAHAWALPUR 222 in 73.2 overs (Mohammad Imran 47 not out, Jawwad Hussain 39, Faisal Bin Mubashir 35, Mazhar Bashir 34, Adeel Basit 21; Abdur Rehman 3-65, Amad Butt 2-37, Bilawal Bhatti 2-39, Mohammad Abbas 2-47) and 38-4 in 18 overs (Abdur Rehman 2-10, Mohammad Abbas 2-18); SIALKOT 346-9 in 83 overs (Ayaz Tasawwar 122, Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti 63, Naeemuddin 44, Bilawal Bhatti 29; Mazhar Bashir 3-84, Imranullah Aslam 2-76, Mohammad Imran 2-91).

Group ‘B’:

At National Stadium, Karachi: Faisalabad beat Hyderabad by an innings and 76 runs.

FAISALABAD 285 in 82.3 overs (Misbah-ul-Haq 111, Abdul Samad 31, Ali Rafiq 29, Abubakar Khan 27; Nasir Awais 5-127, Nauman Ali 4-110); HYDERABAD 85 in 36.1 overs (Mohammad Wais 29; Samiullah Khan Niazi 5-30, Ahmed Safi 2-12, Naseer Akram 2-13) and 124 in 34 overs (Mir Darya Khan 29, Rizwan Ahmed 29, Mohammad Qazzafi 20; Naseer Akram 5-25, Ahmed Safi 2-24, Ehsan Adil 2-43).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad: QUETTA 121 in 45.2 overs (Rameez Raja 42; Aftab Ahmed 5-26, Saleem Mal 2-18, Zahoor Khan 2-31) and 88-3 in 47 overs (Hafiz Abdullah Jan 32 not out, Taimur 22 not out; Nasir Khan 2-21); DERA MURAD JAMALI 294-9 in 83 overs (Abdul Rasheed 59, Najeebullah 58, Abid Ali 51, Zahoor Ahmed 33, Shahbaz Ali 28; Sher Ali 3-33, Hamal Wahab 3-88).

Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2017