SIALKOT were facing an uphill battle after a superb undefeated century by Akbar-ur-Rehman put Karachi Blues in total command of their Super Eight final in the Faysal Bank Quaid-i-Azam Trophy National Cricket Championship at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Tuesday.

Akbar, the 29-year-old who has been a sort of an unsung hero this season, produced another sterling performance as he stroked 176 to propel his side to 401-7 after the Blues had resumed the third day of the five-day clash at 89-2 in response to Sialkot’s fist innings total of 229. By stumps, the Blues had already secured a healthy lead of 172 runs mainly because of Akbar’s tremendous innings.

Akbar, who is enjoying his most productive first-class season with a current tally of 974 runs in this his 10th game in the championship, scored his third century, and fifth overall in 47 matches, as he struck 24 boundaries and one six while being at the crease for 395 minutes after coming to bat on Monday evening.

The Blues suffered an early setback when their skipper Khurram Manzoor was caught behind after adding just six more runs to his overnight score of 23. Mohammad Waqas (13) lost his patience and was caught at mid-off by Bilawal Bhatti off spinner Nayyar Abbas after adding 54 with Akbar.

But Akbar continued to grow in stature and at one point had slammed four successive boundaries off Ali Khan.

Wicket-keeper Javed Mansoor (22) arrived to put on 74 for the fifth-wicket but the defining partnership of the match came when Azam Hussain joined Akbar at the fall of Tariq Haroon’s wicket at 298. The pair have so far shared an unbroken stand worth 103.

Slow left-armer Azam, who is not known for his batting deeds, showed a lot of common sense in making 53 off 66 deliveries with seven hits to the fence.

Sialkot clearly missed their inspirational skipper Shoaib Malik — who left for South Africa on Monday to join the Pakistan squad for the forthcoming Twenty20 and ODI series — as Mansoor Amjad failed to lift the sagging morale of his team-mates with his insipid captaincy.

Scoreboard SIALKOT (1st Innings) 229 (Mohammad Ayub Dogar 72, Hafiz Majid Jahangir 54, Bilawal Bhatti 34; Anwar Ali 4-64, Tariq Haroon 2-20, Azam Hussain 2-22). KARACHI BLUES (1st Innings, overnight 89-2): Khurram Manzoor c Shakeel b F. Rasheed    29 Fakhar Zaman b Bilawal    34 Mohammad Wajihuddin lbw b Ali    7 Akbar-ur-Rehman not out    176 Mohammad Waqas c Bilawal b Nayyar    13 Javed Mansoor c Majid b Bilawal    22 Anwar Ali c Nayyar b Ali Khan    16 Tariq Haroon c Nayyar b Majid    17 Azam Hussain not out    53 EXTRAS (B-16, LB-8, W-3, NB-7)    34 TOTAL (for seven wkts, 121.4 overs)    401 FALL OF WKTS: 1-59, 2-71, 3-106, 4-160, 5-234, 6-272, 7-298. TO BAT: Tabish Khan, Rumman Raees Khan. BOWLING (to-date): Bilawal Bhatti 28.4-6-107-1 (6nb, 1w); Mohammad Abbas 24-4-50-0 (1w); Faisal Rasheed 27-10-53-1; Ali Khan 12-3-50-2 (1w); Nayyar Abbas 17-2-64-1 (1nb); Mansoor Amjad 9-0-44-0; Hafiz Majid Jahangir 4-0-9-1.