KARACHI: State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) took another giant stride to regaining first-class status after securing a vital first-innings lead against K-Electric in the pool fixture of the Patron’s Trophy Grade-II Cricket Tournament here on Sunday.
At stumps on day two of the top-of-the-table Group ‘A’ clash at the UBL Sports Complex, SBP had reached 97-1 in the second innings while extending their overall lead to 231, heading into Monday’s last day of the league round. A draw will be sufficient for SBP to qualify for the semi-finals.
Earlier, K-Electric — who led the pool standings by just one point over second-placed SBP before the start of the fifth and final round — were dismissed for 204 in reply to SBP’s 338-7 in the stipulated first-innings quota of 83 overs. Left-arm paceman Taj Wali grabbed five wickets for 49 runs while slow left-armer Kashif Bhatti continued his excellent form in the competition to pick up four for 50.
On Saturday’s opening day, promising left-hander Saad Ali struck a sublime 145 with is 223-ball innings featuring 18 boundaries and three sixes.
Pool ‘D’ leaders Dollar East suffered a reversal as Higher Education Commission (HEC) dismissed them for 196 to obtain a healthy lead of 126 on the first innings at the LCCA Ground in Lahore. By stumps on day two, HEC had advanced to 32-0 to enjoy an overall advantage of 158.
Pakistan Navy overhauled Pakistan Customs’ total of 369-3 by amassing 398-6 in the allotted 83 overs at the National Stadium. Abdul Latif hammered 124 off 191 balls with 11 fours while adding 121 for the second wicket with opener Hamza Ghanchi (80) and 165 or the third wicket with skipper Babar Hussain Agha (86).
The highlights of Customs’ innings on Saturday were the batting of captain Mirza Asad Baig (unbeaten 172 off 213 balls, 17 boundaries) and Saad Alam (105 off 175, 12 fours) who put on 188 for the opening wicket.
Close of play scores on Sunday (day two of three):
Fifth round:
Group ‘A’:
At UBL Sports Complex, Karachi: STATE BANK 338-7 in 83 overs (Saad Ali 145, Usman Salahuddin 64, Sami Aslam 41, Faisal Mubashir 31; Zain-ul-Abideen 2-56) and 97-1 in 38 overs (Faisal Mubashir 51 not out); K-ELECTRIC 204 in 56.2 overs (Saud Shakeel 56, Adil Amin 40, Shadab Khan 28, Rameez Raja 26; Taj Wali 5-49, Kashif Bhatti 4-50).
At National Stadium, Karachi: PAKISTAN CUSTOMS 369-4 in 83 overs (Mirza Asad Baig 172 not out, Saad Alam 105, Zohaib Abid 39, Akbar Babar 38 not out; Moazzam Malik 2-61) and 43-0 in 10 overs; PAKISTAN NAVY 398-6 in 83 overs (Abdul Latif 124, Babar Hussain Agha 86, Hamza Ghanchi 80, Amit Ravi 38 not out, Nasir Awais 33; Arsalan Hussain 2-127).
Group ‘B’:
At Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi: OMAR ASSOCIATES vs PAKISTAN OILFIELDS LIMITED — no play on first two days due to rain.
At Army Ground Rawalpindi: SAUDI CRICKET INTERNATIONAL 87-6 in 22 overs (Rao Waqar 37 not out; Khadim Jan 3-31, Nauman Najeeb 3-31) vs PAKISTAN ARMY — no play on day two due to rain.
At Diamond Club Ground Islamabad: PIA vs ASIM TEXTILES — no play on first two days due to rain.
Group ‘C’:
At Lahore Country Club, Muridke: CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 450 in 72.1 overs (Faizan Riaz 111, Mohammad Naqqash 103, Naved Malik 95, Kamran Hussain 42, Sajawal Riaz 31; Ibtesam-ul-Haq 4-122, Akbar Baig 3-138, Wasim Zahoor 2-74) and 6-1 in 2 overs; SERVICE INDUSTRIES 312-9 in 83 overs (Asim Ali Nasir 149 not out, Nabeel Nawaz 60, Farhan Asghar 34; Kamran Hussain 5-81, Usman Ashraf 3-54).
At Rana Naved-ul-Hasan Cricket Academy, Sheikhupura: NADRA 150 in 50 overs (Naseerullah 39, Kashan Akram 35 not out, Mohammad Ali 35; Imran Khan 5-24, Sohaibullah 2-23) and 93-5 in 37 overs (Hamza Ali Butt 26; Sohail Tanvir 2-13, Munir-ur-Rehman 2-15); ZARAI TARAQIATI BANK LIMITED 227 in 55.1 overs (Shahid Yousuf 62, Naved Yasin 41, Munir-ur-Rehman 40, Umair Masood 30; Mohammad Ali 5-61, Wajid Ali Jr 3-23).
At Mirpur Cricket Stadium, Mirpur: HUMAK ENGINEERING 298 in 81.5 overs (Nasir Nawaz 68, Taimur Khan 46, Atif Shuja 38; Kamran Hussain 5-67, Salman Ali Agha 2-38); BRIGHTO PAINTS 266-5 in 63.1 overs (Kamran Hussain 106 not out, Mohammad Waheed 100 not out; Adil Shabbir 2-54, Mohammad Muqaddas 2-59).
Group ‘D’:
At LCCA Ground, Lahore: HIGHER EDUCATION COMMISSION 322 in 81.4 overs (Usman Khalid 61, Mohammad Mohsin 45, Adil Akram 40, Asif Gondal 31, Haider Ali Jr 29, Tayyab Tahir 26; Bilawal Iqbal 4-39, Shahan Akram 3-33, Jalat Khan 2-100) and 32-0 in 20 overs; DOLLAR EAST 196 in 68.1 overs (Shahan Akram 53, Rehan Rafiq 38, Yawar Bashir 37, Sarmad Hameed 30; Asfand Mehran 4-46, Haider Ali Sr 3-62, Ali Tipu Sultan 2-38).
At Khayaban-e-Amin Ground, Lahore: INCOME TAX 153-9 in 52 overs (Yousuf Ali 36, Zia Shahzad 30 not out; Yasir Hussain 5-24, Kashif Mahmood 3-63) vs KARACHI PORT TRUST.
At Railways Stadium, Lahore: PAKISTAN RAILWAYS 338-8 in 83 overs (Farhan Nazir 81, Hasan Nasir 68, Mohammad Salman 57, Ameer Hamza 37, Haider Rameez 28; Yasir Ajmal 3-87, Ghulam Ali 2-88) and 81-2 in 22 overs (Zain-ul-Hasnain 49 not out); KHAYABAN-E-AMIN 283 in 70.4 overs (Zeeshan Ali Ashraf 131, Mohsin Arshad 29, Awais Dogar 29, Salman Afridi 29; Ahmed Hasan 4-43, Zain-ul-Hasnain 2-21, Hasan Nasir 2-69).
Published in Dawn, March 21st, 2016