KARACHI: Karachi Dolphins closed in on a much-needed victory in their top-of-the-table clash against Quetta Bears in the PCB Inter-Region U-19 three-day Cricket Tournament match at the UBL Sports Complex here on Monday.

The Bears, who lead pool ‘A’ by three points over Dolphins, were struggling at 28-3 in pursuit of a target of 217 on the second day of their fifth and last round fixture. Upcoming all-rounder Saud Shakeel grabbed all the wickets to fall with his slow left-armers.

No less than 22 wickets fell on Monday. After the Bears, who were 21-1 on Sunday, had been dismissed for 172 in their first innings, the Dolphins were bundled out for 99 in the second innings after having enjoyed a lead of 117 on the first.

Meanwhile, Larkana Bulls reached 251-9 in response to Hyderabad Hawks’ first-innings tally of 311 in the other pool ‘A’ game at the Niaz Stadium in Hyderabad.

Close of play scores on Monday (day two of three):

Pool ‘A’:

At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi:

KARACHI DOLPHINS 289 in 77.2 overs (Saud Shakeel 44, Noor Wali 43, Arsalan Farzand 39, Kashif Iqbal 39, Jamal Khan 4-60, Mohammad Imran 4-69, Sagheer Ahmed 2-45) and 99 in 25.3 overs (Akbar Babar 41, Arsalan Farzand 22; Mohammad Imran 3-45); QUETTA BEARS 172 in 54.5 overs (Nizamuddin 49, Jamal Khan 43, Abdul Nafay 33; Noor Wali 3-16, Ghulam Mudassar 3-45) and 28-3 in 15 overs (Saud Shakeel 3-12).

At Niaz Stadium, Hyderabad:

HYDERABAD HAWKS 311 in 82.5 overs (Khizer Hayat 64, Mohammad Azeem 63, Asif Mahmood 52, Fayyaz Ahmed 42l Ali Murtaza 6-101, Mohammad Imran 2-18) and 45-3 in 13 overs (Daniyal Rajput 30 not out; Ayaz Ali 2-15); LARKANA BULLS 251-9 in 83 overs (Mohsin Raza 59, Chahat Ali 49, Saddam Hussain 34, Rizwan Mansoor 28; Asif Mahmood 5-71, Asad Malik 2-29).

Published in Dawn, September 30th , 2014