KARACHI: Faizan Riaz hit a double century a day after opener Mohammad Huraira smashed a ton to help Northern post 520-8 (decl.) against Balochistan in their Quaid-i-Azam Trophy third-round match at the Abbotabad Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Faizan, who scored a hundred in the second-round match against Sindh, smashed 201 in his six-hour knock after Northern started the day at 347-3 with Huraira hitting 169 on the first day.

Balochistan, in response, were struggling at 108-4 with Haris Sohail and Hussain Talat at the crease by the end of the second day after captain Asad Shafiq fell to Kashif Ali (2-35) after adding 53.

Balochistan had something to cheer on Monday when their 31-year-old fast bowler Taj Wali completed a five-wicket haul after registering 3-60 in the first day.

At the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, Mohammad Ilyas and Ahmed Bashir helped Southern Punjab bowl Sindh out for just 181 in response to the former’s first innings total of 278 after they started the second day a 259-7.

Ilyas registered figures of 5-50, Ahmed Bashir bagged three wickets and Pakistan international Mohammad Abbas snapped up two after Sindh leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed got a five-fer.

Sindh’s Muhammad Umar (59), Saad Khan (36) and Fawad Alam (32) offered some resistance against Ilyas, Ahmed and Abbas as the three Southern Punjab bowlers fully exploited conditions that suited fast bowlers. Southern Punjab now lead Sindh by 174 runs with seven second innings wickets intact.

At Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium, early afternoon rain spoilt what was shaping into an exciting contest between Central Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Central Punjab, resuming their first innings at 24-0 in reply to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s 220, were 173-4 when rain forced an early closure to the day’s play. Abid Ali top-scored with 66, while Abdullah Shafique scored 51. For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Khalid Usman took three for 52.

On the first day, leg-spinner Usama Mir bagged six Khyber Pakhtunkhwa wickets to keep the defending champions from scoring big.

After an opening stand of 93 between Sahibzada Farhan and Waqar Ahmed, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa kept losing wickets at quick intervals before being bowled out. Usama recorded 6-91.

Summarised scores:

Southern Punjab lead by 174 runs against Sindh

SOUTHERN PUNJAB 278 in 94.3 overs (Usman Salahuddin 89, Umar Siddiq 47, Ali Usman 42, Mohammad Ilyas 39; Abrar Ahmed 5-94, Muhammad Umar 2-51, Mir Hamza 2-58) and 77-3 in 20 overs (Zain Abbas 48 not out; Ghulam Mudassar 2-17); SINDH 181 in 50.2 overs (Muhammad Umar 59, Saad Khan 36, Fawad Alam 32; Mohammad Ilyas 5-50, Ahmed Bashir 3-31, Mohammad Abbas 2-41) Central Punjab trail by 47 runs against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 220 in 77.4 overs (Waqar Ahmed 58, Sahibzada Farhan 44, Nabi Gul 40; Usama Mir 6-91, Ahmed Daniyal 3-33); CENTRAL PUNJAB 173-4 in 65 overs (Abid Ali 66, Abdullah Shafique 51, Ali Shan 22; Khalid Usman 3-52)

Balochistan trail by 412 runs against Northern

NORTHERN 520-8 (decl.) in 116 overs (Faizan Riaz 201 not out, Mohammad Huraira 169, Sarmad Bhatti 39, Abdul Faseeh 34, Umar Amin 22; Taj Wali 5-91, Akif Javed 3-146); BALOCHISTAN 108-4 in 34.4 overs (Asad Shafiq 53, Haris Sohail 26 not out; Kashif Ali 2-35).

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2022