KARACHI, March 31: Skipper Faisal Iqbal and Tahir Khan stood firm for Sindh as they escaped defeat against Punjab in the four-day Pentangular Cup cricket tournament fixture that ended as a draw here at the National Stadium on Saturday.

Faisal Iqbal made a defiant 81 from 75 deliveries while Tahir, who came as the night watchman on the third day, spent almost the whole day to make a patient 67 off 209 balls as Sindh concluded the last day on 335-7 in their second innings.

Punjab must have been frustrated as they were sensing a big victory when they reduced Sindh to 153-3 after forcing them to follow on, needing another seven wickets to register an innings win with 118 runs to defend on the penultimate day.

All credit to Tahir, who played a brave knock with Faisal to frustrate the Punjab bowlers after Khalid Latif was dismissed for 42 earlier in the day, adding just six runs to his overnight score. Wicket-keeper Sarfraz also played an impressive innings of 33 and remained unbeaten till close of the play.

Pacer Sohail Tanvir took one wicket on the final day and was the most successful of the Punjab bowlers, claiming six wickets in the match. –PPI