KARACHI, Nov 22: A gritty century partnership between Aminur Rahman and Tahir Khan gave Karachi Urban an unexpected first-innings lead over Lahore Shalimar on the second day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Gold League cricket fixture at the UBL Sports Complex on Tuesday.
The seventh-wicket pair came together after the hosts were reeling on the ropes at 121 for six just before lunch. They not only added 102 priceless runs at a rapid rate but also helped themselves to excellent half-centuries.
The rearguard action exhibited by Amin, Tahir and tailender Tabish Khan enabled Karachi Urban to reach a creditable 312 while obtaining a significant lead of 74 runs.
Lahore Shalimar finished the day at 70 for one in the second innings.
Starting the day at 71 for three, Urban quickly lost Maisam Hasnain, the opener who was forced to retire hurt with a hand injury on Monday.
Skipper Ahmer Saeed doubled his overnight score of 22 before falling to his opposite number Junaid Zia, the Shalimar captain, after a painstaking 154-ball knock in 209 minutes.
Rizwan Qureshi (18) perished to an irresponsible stroke as Shalimar seized control.
But the hosts clawed back into the match with Amin spearheading the charge with some audacious strokes on his way to a splendid 69 in 106 minutes on a sluggish pitch. The promising 23-year-old wicket-keeper/batsman struck eight boundaries while facing only 81 deliveries.
Tahir, a more than handy batsman, showed his all-round prowess as he compiled a neat 59 off 99 balls. His was a composed innings that included seven fours in a stay of 135 minutes.
Tabish, not to be left behind, added the much-needed flourish to the Karachi Urban innings by making an unbeaten 33 while sharing in two crucial stands. First he helped Tahir put on 43 for the ninth-wicket and then dominated the last-wicket partnership of 46 with Nasir Khan (11).
Tabish’s 38-ball innings was laced with five hits to the fence.
Waqas Ahmed, a gangling paceman, returned figures of four for 71.
Scoreboard
LAHORE SHALIMAR (1st Innings) 238 (Imran Farhat 59, Humayun Farhat 53, Aamir Sajjad 52; Tabish Khan 4-54).
KARACHI URBAN (1st Innings, overnight 71-3):
Maisam Hasnain c Bilal b Fahad 8
Ghulam Ali lbw b Waqas 14
Shadab Kabir lbw b Junaid 0
Ahmer Saeed lbw b Junaid 44
Naveed Khan c Humayun b Ashfaq 7
Rizwan Qureshi c Muntazir b Sohail 18
Aminur Rahman c Sohail b Waqas 69
Tahir Khan c Fahad b Waqas 59
Azam Hussain c Bilal b Waqas 0
Tabish Khan not out 33
Nasir Khan c Humayun b Imran 11
EXTRAS (B-19, LB-8, W-2, NB-20) 49
TOTAL (all out, 91.1 overs) 312
FALL OF WKTS: 1-5, 2-47, 3-62, 4-73, 5-109, 6-121, 7-223, 8-223, 9-266.
BOWLIN: Fahad Masood 13-6-29-1 (3nb); Junaid Zia 28-5-78-2 (3nb, 1w); Waqas Ahmed 17-4-71-4 (10nb, 1w); Ashfaq Ahmed 11-3-30-1; Sohail Ahmed 12-1-46-1 (3nb); Imran Farhat 6.1-1-20-1; Jahangir Mirza 4-1-11-0.
LAHORE SHALIMAR (2nd Innings):
Imran Farhat not out 27
Ashfaq Ahmed lbw b Azam 16
Muntazir Mehdi not out 13
EXTRAS (B-3, W-11) 14
TOTAL (for one wkt, 16 overs) 70
FALL OF WKT: 1-48.
BOWLING (to-date): Nasir Khan 6-0-33-0 (2w); Tabish Khan 4-1-16-0 (2w); Azam Hussain 5-2-18-1; Tahir Khan 1-1-0-0.