ISLAMABAD, Nov 21: Inspired by a magnificent century from opener Saeed Anwar Junior, Balochistan stormed into the final of the RBS Pentangular Cup after scoring a remarkable two-wicket victory over Federal Areas at the Diamond Club Ground here on Friday.
Balochistan, faced with a daunting target of 393, needed 246 runs on the last day of the four-day fixture with seven wickets in hand against a Federal Areas bowling attack that included Sohail Tanvir, Rao Iftikhar, Yasir Arafat and Yasir Ali.
But Saeed Anwar Junior, resuming on 36, led a great turnaround for Balochistan — who appeared dead and buried on Wednesday after being bundled out for 57 in the first innings — by hammering 130 off 294 balls as he and the in-form Saeed bin Nasir extended their overnight partnership to 121 by adding exactly 100 runs on Friday to their fourth-wicket stand.
Saeed bin Nasir, the leading batsman in the tournament, scored 58 to lift his aggregate to 410. Saeed was bowled by Rao Iftikhar. Bilal Khilji (35) added 72 with Saeed Anwar Junior for the seventh wicket.
Sohail, who claimed career-best seven for 21 in the first innings, completed a 10-wicket haul when he got of Gulraiz Sadaf shortly after trapping Saeed Anwar Junior LBW.
Kamran Hussain, who was held back, scored 20 vital runs before he was eighth out with Balochistan only three runs away from victory — a task that was completed by skipper Abdur Rauf and Azharullah.
The final will be held in Lahore from Monday. Balochistan finished second behind the NWFP with 15 points.
Scoreboard
FEDERAL AREAS (1st Innings) 146 (Bilal Khilji 4-13).
BALOCHISTAN (1st Innings) 57 (Sohail Tanvir 7-21).
FEDERAL AREAS (2nd Innings) 303 (Usman Saeed 87 not out, Umar Amin 51; Kamran Hussain 5-58).
BALOCHISTAN (2nd Innings, overnight 147-3):
Shoaib Khan Jr b Rao 64
Usman Tariq c Jamal b Yasir Ali 11
Saeed Anwar Jr lbw b Sohail 130
Rameez Alam lbw b Sohail 13
Saeed bin Nasir b Rao 58
Bilal Khilji c Raheel b Yasir Arafat 35
Gulraiz Sadaf c Raheel b Sohail 9
Azharullah not out 9
Kamran Hussain c Jamal b Rao 20
Abdur Rauf not out 2
EXTRAS (B-12, LB-8, W-2, NB-20) 42
TOTAL (for eight wkts, 101.4 overs) 393
FALL OF WKTS: 1-55, 2-94, 3-126, 4-247,
5-319, 6-344, 7-366, 8-390.
BOWLING: Sohail Tanvir 30.4-5-124-3 (8nb, 1w); Rao Iftikhar 25-7-69-3; Yasir Ali 17-1-72-1 (5nb); Yasir Arafat 25-3-102-1 (7nb, 1w); Umar Amin 4-1-6-0.
RESULT: Balochistan won by two wickets.
UMPIRES: Iftikhar Malik and Zameer Haider.
MATCH REFEREE: Abdul Sami Khan.
