KARACHI: The Division One final of the Faysal Bank Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship hung in the balance on Sunday after a late-order rally by PIA set Habib Bank a tricky fourth-innings chase here at the National Stadium.

Fahad Masood, rewarded for gallant knock in the first innings, was batting on 19 in the company of Aftab as the pair restored parity somewhat after Habib Bank lost those three wickets for 58, including Imran Farhat, the match's only centurion, to a stinging return catch by PIA skipper Kamran Sajid who needed medical attention for his heroic.

Almost dead and buried after reaching 232-8 and leading by only 103 runs on Saturday night, PIA owed their total of 319 to a splendid partnership between Fahad Iqbal and tailender Najaf Shah who combined superbly to put on 76 precious runs for the ninth wicket.

In what should have been an absorbing contest between these rivals, the match has been stained by a series of complaints from the PIA team management over the poor standard of umpiring, notably from Zameer Haider who incidentally is one of Pakistan's representatives on the ICC panel of international umpires.

Zameer, who otherwise is widely respected by all and sundry, has been involved in several contentious decisions, which according to PIA officials were went against their team in the final.

So much so, former Pakistan batsman Shoaib Mohammad, the chief of PIA sports department who seldom expresses his emotions in public, was aghast at the substandard nature of umpiring and openly criticised the match officials the other night shortly after Kamran Sajid was given LBW by Zameer to left-arm seamer Kamran Hussain.

TV replays confirmed the left-hander, who made a gutsy 70, was unfortunate to be belatedly adjudged out as the trajectory of the delivery was evidently missing the leg stump.

The embattled umpire again courted controversy on Sunday when he signalled the end of Fahad Iqbal's tenacious 284-minute innings of 84 (183 balls, seven boundaries) after the entire Habib Bank side appealed in chorus for a caught-behind.

The shell-shocked batsman took a while to get off the field while countless television replays proved inconclusive to back the umpire's verdict. The glare towards the umpire could lead Fahad to a meting with match referee Anwer Khan.

The relationship between the rival camps was far from ideal with accusations of ball-tampering forcing the umpires not only to keep a vigilant eye on and off on the ball, but also to ensure the match moved along peacefully after the players exchanged words.

Scoreboard

PIA (1st Innings) 228 (Kamran Sajid 90, Shoaib Malik 39; Danish Kaneria 4-66). HABIB BANK (1st Innings) 313 (Imran Farhat 109, Fahad Masood 66, Shan Masood 54, Hasan Raza 39, Aizaz Cheema 3-90). PIA (2nd Innings, overnight 232-8): Agha Sabir c Humayun b Sarmad 35 Anop Ravi b Fahad 8 Kamran Sajid lbw b Kamran 70 Faisal Iqbal b Kaneria 15 Shoaib Malik c Khaqan b Kamran 14 Fahad Iqbal c Humayun b Fahad 84 Shaharyar Ghani b Kamran 0 Sarfraz Ahmed c Imran b Kaneria 7 Anwar Ali lbw b Kaneria 4 Najaf Shah not out 29 Aizaz Cheema b Fahad 14 EXTRAS (B-4, LB-19, W-2, NB-14) 39 TOTAL (all out, 103.5 overs) 319 FALL OF WKTS: 1-17, 2-63, 3-94, 4-125, 5-199, 6-199, 7-216, 8-220, 9-296. BOWLING: Fahad Masood 21.5-2-60-3 (6nb, 1w); Kamran Hussain 16-4-49-3 (2nb); Sarmad Anwar 14-2-45-1 (6nb, 1w); Danish Kaneria 43-13-114-3; Aslam Qureshi 7-1-26-0; Imran Farhat 2-0-6-0. HABIB BANK (2nd Innings): Shan Masood c Sarfraz b Anwar 7 Aftab Khan not out 63 Imran Farhat c and b Kamran 3 Khaqan Arsal b Aizaz 7 Fahad Masood not out 19 EXTRAS (B-1, NB-1) 2 TOTAL (for three wkts, 48 overs) 101 FALL OF WKTS: 1-14, 2-41, 3-58. BOWLING (to-date): Anwar Ali 9-2-27-1; Aizaz Cheema 13-2-36-1; Kamran Sajid 1.4-1-0-1; Shoaib Malik 12.2-5-18-0; Najaf Shah 12-9-9-0 (1nb).