KARACHI: Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) and Ghani Glass will do battle to earn the first-class status this year after both departments made it to the final of Patron’s Trophy Grade-II cricket tournament on Thursday.

Plagued by bad weather in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad, both the semi-finals failed to yield outright winners over the three days of play.

The game at the Pindi Cricket Stadium saw only 63 overs possible on Thursday during which Ghani Glass — who had secured a 17-run lead on the first innings — extended their overnight second-innings total from 3-0 to 219-4, while leaving Karachi Port Trust (KPT) in a state of utter frustration.

Tayyab Tahir had enough time to notch up his second half century of the match as he top-scored with an 86-ball knock of 62 (eight fours and one six), while sharing a third-wicket partnership of 78 with Moiz Ghani (35). Tayyab made 50 on Tuesday.

KPT then endured more frustration when Mohammad Waheed, the top scorer of the first innings with 81, and Hasnain Bukhari (41) shut the doors on the bankers in an unbroken stand of 69, with Waheed making 28.

The other semi-final at the Diamond Club Ground in the federal capital provided some excitement before ZTBL drew with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on the basis of 35-run advantage they had earned on the first innings.

Resuming the third and final day 43-3, ZTBL ate up as many as 61 overs while reaching 192 all out in the second innings.

The dejected SBP were unable to take the last wicket as quickly as they had hoped for when Hamza Nadeem, who was ZTBL’s hero throughout the match, and No 11 Mohammad Ali added 57 in 71 minutes. Hamza followed up his 53 in the first innings with an undefeated 51 from 90 balls (five fours and two sixes).

Taj Wali picked up three more wickets to finish with five for 45, while fellow left-arm paceman Nazar Hussain claimed three for 59.

SBP, chasing 228 in the limited time left, threw their bats around but only managed 112-6 in 18 overs when play was finally called off.

The four-day final will start from Saturday at the Pindi Cricket Stadium with the champions qualifying for next season’s Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship.

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

Semi-finals:

At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Match drawn.

ZARAI TARAQIATI BANK LIMITED 218 in 60.1 overs (Saad Nasim 70, Hamza Nadeem 53, Usman Ashraf 29; Umaid Asif 3-38, Nazar Hussain 4-21, Umaid Asif 3-60, Taj Wali 2-56) and 192 in 72 overs (Hamza Nadeem 51 not out, Saadullah Ghauri 27, Mohsin Nadeem 26, Mohammad Ali 21; Taj Wali 5-45, Nazar Hussain 3-59); STATE BANK 183 in 37.2 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 55, Rizwan Hussain 52, Mukhtar Ahmed 30; Mohammad Ali 4-72, Hamza Nadeem 3-50) and 112-6 in 18 overs (Rizwan Hussain 31, Umar Waheed 28; Nasim Shah 2-9, Hamza Nadeem 2-44, Mohammad Ali 2-59).

At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: Match drawn.

GHANI GLASS 241 in 80.1 overs (Mohammad Waheed 81, Tayyab Tahir 50, Ali Usman 29, Afaq Shahid 21, Ulfat Shah 21; Husban Javed 5-69, Rashid Hanif 2-58, Babar Rehman 2-64) and 219-4 in 64 overs (Tayyab Tahir 62, Hasnain Bukhari 41 not out, Moiz Ghani 35, Mohammad Waheed 28 not out, Zeeshan Ashraf 21; Khalid Mahmood 2-56); KARACHI PORT TRUST 224 in 63.1 overs (Nadeem Javed 115 not out, Taimur Ali 25; Mohammad Umar 6-85, Saif-ur-Rehman 3-63).

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2018