KARACHI: Spinner Abrar Ahmed continued his blistering run of form to help Sindh record their second consecutive win in the ongoing Quaid-i-Azam Trophy while Central Punjab drew against Southern Punjab as the tournament’s fifth round ended on Monday.

Abrar bagged three wickets on the final day to complete his fourth five-wicket haul in six innings to help Sindh beat Balochistan by ten wickets, having dismissed the latter’s batter Abdul Wahid Bangalzai a day earlier at Rawalpindi’s Pindi Cricket Stadium.

The mystery spinner returned figures of 5-49 as Balochistan — who started their second innings trailing at 121 — were bowled out for 190 before Sindh openers Omair Bin Yousuf and Saim Ayub cruised to the 74-run target with ease.

With 28 wickets at a brilliant average of 17.68, Abrar continues to be the leading wicket-taker this season.

Balochistan’s Kashif Bhatti top-scored for the team with 37 while captain Asad Shafiq was the next best performer with the bat, adding 31.

At the Multan Cricket Stadium, Southern Punjab batters Salman Ali Agha and Azam Khan staged a remarkable comeback after the team was reeling at 80-2. Salman smashed 103 and Azam hit 78 as the batters combined for a 169-run partnership for the fifth wicket to bring their team back into the game. Central Punjab pacer Mohammad Ali recorded figures of 5-71.

Summarised scores:

Sindh beat Balochistan by 10 wickets

BALOCHISTAN 269 in 90.5 overs (Haseebullah 67, Imran Butt 60; Ghulam Mudassar 5-73, Abrar Ahmed 3-93) and 190 in 64.3 overs (Kashif Bhatti 37, Asad Shafiq 31; Abrar Ahmed 5-49, Asif Mehmood 3-30); SINDH 390 in 123 overs (Saud Shakeel 187 not out, Fawad Alam 51; Asad Shafiq 2-37) and 74-0 in 10.3 overs (Saim Ayub 48 not out, Omair Bin Yousuf 22 not out)

Match drawn between Southern Punjab and Central Punjab

CENTRAL PUNJAB 302 in 92.5 overs (Faheem Ashraf 87, Azhar Ali 61; Sameen Gul 4-67) and 274-3 in 57 overs (Abdullah Shafique 114 not out, Azhar Ali 108); SOUTHERN PUNJAB 200 in 50 overs (Muhammad Imran 71, Zain Abbas 46; Mohammad Ali 6-59) and 330-8 in 103 overs (Salman Ali Agha 103, Azam Khan 78; Mohammad Ali 5-71)

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2022