KARACHI: Northern were facing their first defeat at the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy on the penultimate day of the tenth-round match against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while the other two matches of the round were headed towards draws on Tuesday.

Safely headed to the Trophy final and having won joint-highest three matches, Northern were in a serious spot of concern for the first time in the tournament against a side which is bottom in the standings with four losses.

Going into the fourth and final day, Northern were trailing by 175 runs with four wickets down after a fighting show by defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s lower-order batters boosted them to a first-innings total of 444 in response to Northern’s paltry 223.

Maaz Sadaqat was the pick of the batters for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 91 while Imran (55 not out), Khalid Usman (38) and Sajid Khan (23) made crucial contributions to ensure their team was in the run for a consolation win.

Imran then took three wickets as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa reduced Northern to 46-4 by the close of the day’s play.

At Lahore’s LCCA Ground, Balochistan posted 240-2 after Sindh finally declared their first innings at 644-6. Saad Khan was dismissed today for 87 while Fawad Alam returned undefeated on 62.

For Balochistan, opener Imran Butt registered a century, smashing a 171-ball 105. Youngsters Abdul Wahid Bangalzai and Haseebullah added 52 and 44.

Elsewhere, Central Punjab gave a fitting response to Southern Punjab’s first-innings total of 550-8 (decl.). The former champions ended the day at 415-4 after all-rounder Qasim Akram smashed his second first-class century.

The right-hander accumulated 138 off 159 balls after joining captain Mohammad Saad with Central Punjab at 129-3. The pair went on to score 222 runs for the fourth wicket. Saad, too, registered a ton, plundering the Southern Punjab bowlers for a 213-ball 135.

Summarised scores:

Balochistan trail by 404 runs against Sindh

SINDH 644-6 (decl.) in 165.1 overs (Saud Shakeel 181, Khurram Manzoor 174; Kashif Bhatti 3-142);

BALOCHISTAN 240-2 in 64 overs (Imran Butt 105 not out, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 52; Aaliyan Mehmood 1-47)

Central Punjab trail by 135 runs against Southern Punjab

SOUTHERN PUNJAB 550-8 (decl.) in 126 overs (Salman Ali Agha 158 not out, Zeeshan Ashraf 145; Qasim Akram 3-43); CENTRAL PUNJAB 415-4 in 98 overs (Qasim Akram 138, Muhammad Saad 135 not out; Sameen Gul 2-83)

Northern trail by 175 runs against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

NORTHERN 223 in 72.2 overs (Rohail Nazir 82, Mubasir Khan 31; Ihsanullah 4-41, Niaz Khan 3-59) and 46-4 in 25 overs (Hasan Raza 20 not out, Rohail Nazir 18 not out; Mohammad Imran 3-19); KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA 444 in 132.4 overs (Maaz Sadaqat 91, Kamran Ghulam 81; Kashif Ali 3-90, Mehran Mumtaz 2-86).

Published in Dawn, November 23rd, 2022