LAHORE, Dec 22: An unbeaten 74 by Asif Hussain guided Faisalabad into a strong position against Lahore Blues in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Group-I match at LCCA Ground here on Sunday.
Batting sedately, Faisalabad carried their overnight score from six for no loss to 172 for two in reply to home team’s paltry 195 on the second day of the four-day clash.
Asif’s patient 237-ball innings included four boundaries while Sami-ul-Haq scored 42 with two fours.
Meanwhile, the tie between Wapda and Servis Industries was heading for an exciting finish at Gymkhana Ground in Okara.
Wapda, who had gained a lead of 26 runs on the first innings, were dismissed for 177 in their second knock despite Adil Nisar hitting 69.
Servis, needing 204 for victory, were 30 for two in their second innings.
Hosts Sargodha took a surprise lead of 47 runs against the strong National Bank side in their fixture at Sports Stadium.
Majid Saeed top-scored with 62 in his team’s total of 218 as NBP captain Mushtaq Ahmed, the former Test leggie, captured five for 54.
The bankers, who made 171 in the first innings, reached 36 for two at stumps.
Scoreboard
LAHORE BLUES (1st Innings) 195.
FAISALABAD (1st Innings, overnight 6-0):
Zeeshan Asif lbw b Sajid 23
Asif Hussain not out 74
Sami-ul-Haq c Latif b Shahzad 42
Mohammad Salman not out 7
EXTRAS (B-2, LB-5, W-12, NB-7) 26
TOTAL (for two wkts, 75 overs) 172
FALL OF WKTS: 1-56, 2-152.
BOWLING (to-date): Shahzad Butt 22-5-37-1; Sajid Ali 21-6-41-1; Manzoor Elahi 5-1-14-0; Ahmed Khan 9-1-25-0; Rauf Wyne 13-2-36-0; Adnan Usman Khan 5-1-12-0.
Brief scores of other Group-I matches:
*At Gymkhana Ground, Okara:
WAPDA 136 in 48.1 overs (Tariq Aziz 64; Imran Adil 3-38, Mohammad Irshad 3-49, Asim Butt 2-24) and 177 in 59.1 overs (Adil Nisar 69; Mohammad Irshad 4-38, Asim Butt 3-36, Imran Adil 3-50);
SERVIS INDUSTRIES 110 in 26 overs (Faisal Irfan 6-29, Waqas Ahmed 2-38, Kashif Raza 2-43) and 30-2 in 14 overs.
*At Sports Stadium, Sargodha:
NATIONAL BANK 171 in 62.2 overs (Sajid Ali 57, Akhtar Sarfraz 39; Ahmed Hayat 4-50, Mohammad Sarfraz 3-21) and 36-2 in 9.2 overs;
SARGODHA 218 in 67.5 overs (Majid Saeed 62, Mohammad Farrukh 31; Mushtaq Ahmed 5-54, Shabbir Ahmed 2-48).
