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KARACHI: PIA stepped up their challenge in the fight for next month’s final of the Faysal Bank Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship Division I by romping to a nine-wicket victory over Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday.
Paceman Ali Imran Pasha captured 4-57 as ZTBL mustered 223 in their second innings. Needing just 12 for their fifth win, PIA lost Anop Ravi for a duck in reaching the easiest of targets.
PIA moved up into second place although they have the same tally of points as restored leaders Wapda with both having 51 each with two rounds remaining in the competition. Despite being beaten, ZTBL also very much remain in contention for the Dec 20-24 final as they just three points behind the top two teams with State Bank another point below in fourth spot.
Habib Bank, the dethroned champions, failed to improve hopes of being retaining their Division I status as they were held to a draw by National Bank at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.
Skipper Kamran Akmal, the discarded Pakistan wicket-keeper/batsman, scored 110 (175 balls, 14 boundaries) while Aqeel Anjum contributed 91 (197 balls, eight fours and one six) put on 180 for the fifth wicket as National Bank reached 484-6 after having started the final day at 181-3.
Sialkot clinched a remarkable six-run win against Islamabad in a dramatic finish at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad.
The home team, who were 180-2 at stumps on day three while chasing 310, lost their final two wickets for no addition to their total of 303.
Afaq Raheem, the in-form opening batsman, had been Islamabad’s main source of inspiration despite the team’s wretched showing in the tournament. But once Afaq was dismissed by Mohammad Imran for 108 (202 balls, 12 fours), it was almost the end.
Paceman Imran ended up with 4-87 while Prince Abbas and Mohammad Abbas took three wickets each with Mohammad Abbas finishing with match bag of 10-141.
Islamabad now seat uncomfortable just three points above bottom-placed Faisalabad in the battle to avoid relegation.
Scores and results on Saturday (final day of four): At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: Match drawn.
NATIONAL BANK 243 in 75.4 overs (Kamran Akmal 66, Fawad Alam 45, Qaiser Abbas 45, Hammad Azam 32; Fahad Masood 5-40, Aslam Qureshi 4-60) and 484-6 in 131 overs (Kamran Akmal 110, Aqeel Anjum 91, Nasir Jamshed 70, Khurram Manzoor 32, Hammad Azam 45 not out, Qaiser Abbas 37 not out; Fahad Masood 2-71, Aslam Qureshi 2-153); HABIB BANK 305 in 98 overs (Bilal Shafayat 88, Aftab Khan 55, Taufiq Umar 52, Salman Qadir 33, Shan Masood 31; Raza Hasan 4-78, Wahab Riaz 4-104, Qaiser Abbas 2-30).
At Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore: PIA beat ZTBL by nine wickets.
ZTBL 178 in 62 overs (Junaid Zia 65, Zulqarnain Haider 43, Imran Nazir 36; Zia-ul-Haq 3-31, Anwar Ali 3-35, Akhtar Waheed 2-69) and 223 in 65 overs (Faisal Athar 40, Shahid Yousuf 38, Zohaib Khan 32; Ali Imran Pasha 4-57, Akhtar Waheed 2-42, Anwar Ali 2-52, Zia-ul-Haq 2-53); PIA 390 in 123 overs (Kamran Sajid 136, Faisal Iqbal 125, Shoaib Khan 39, Shaharyar Ghani 31; Rao Iftikhar 3-52, Junaid Zia 3-75, Shahid Yousuf 2-48) and 12-1 in 4.2 overs.At Diamond Club Ground, Islamabad: Sialkot beat Islamabad by six runs.
SIALKOT 255 in 62.1 overs (M. Ayub Dogar 92, Kamran Younis 32, Hafiz Majid Jahangir 32, Mansoor Amjad 31; Shahzad Azam 4-73, Fakhar Hussain 3-68, Zohaib Ahmed 3-72) and 194 in 49 overs (Hafiz Majid Jahangir 51, Mohammad Yasin 40, Hafiz Majid Jahangir 37; Zohaib Ahmed 5-82, Fakhar Hussain 3-65); ISLAMABAD 140 in 42 overs (Afaq Raheem 54, Zeeshan Mushtaq 50; Mohammad Abbas 7-58, Mohammad Imran 3-34) and 303 in 89.5 overs (Afaq Raheem 108, Umair Khan 48, Wasim Abbas 30; Mohammad Imran 4-87, Mohammad Abbas 3-83, Prince Abbas 3-96).
