ISLAMABAD, March 9: Islamabad were poised to win the Cornelius Trophy after forcing Quetta to follow on and then striking again to leave them tottering at 57 for seven in the second innings on on the second day of the four-day final at Multan Cricket Stadium Sunday.

Islamabad made 355 in their first innings with Mohammad Asif (86), Bilal Asad (71) and Shakeel Ahmed (46 not out) being the major scorers.

Quetta, in reply, could manage just 157 off 51 overs and were also unable to do much in the second innings and still need 141 more runs with three wickets in hand to avoid innings defeat.

Paceman Yasir Arafat took six wickets, three in each innings while Irfan Bhatti claimed two in the second innings off his five overs without conceding a run.

Summarised scores:

ISLAMABAD 355 in 89 overs (Mohammad Asif 86, Bilal Asad 71, Shakeel Ahmed 46 not out, Yasir Arafat 37, Irfan Bhatti 37);

QUETTA 157 in 51 overs (Aqeel Baloch 35, Nadeem Tariq 25, Abdul Rehman 25; Shakeel Ahmed 3-27, Yasir Arafat 3-42, Rao Iftikhar 2-45) and 57-7 in 22 overs (Yasir Arafat 3-22, Irfan Bhatti 2-0).