LAHORE: Asif Mehmood’s maiden first-class half-century and Fawad Alam’s unbeaten 38 helped Sindh stage a remarkable comeback for on the opening day of the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy final against Northern here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

Sindh ended the day at 230-7 off 81.1 overs with Asif and Fawad knitting an unbroken 79-run partnership for the eighth wicket.

Left-handed Test batter Fawad was joined by right-handed Asif with Sindh reeling at 151 for seven in the five-day decider.

The pair played throughout the evening session, adding a life-saving 77 runs in 24.1 overs.

Asif, coming in to bat at number eight, struck six fours and two sixes during his 89-ball 56 not out while Fawad smashed five boundaries during his 115-ball vigil.

Earlier, Northern captain Umar Amin decided to bowl at the toss.

Northern’s pacer Musa Kh­­an gave his team the first two breakthroughs dismissing Sindh cap­t­ain Khurram Manzoor (16 off 30 balls) and Saim Ayub (29 off 67, four fours) with 62 runs on the board.

After the departure of the openers, No.3 Saad Khan was joined by right-handed Omair bin Yousuf, and both took the attack to the Northern bowlers. The pair added 50 runs before Saad was caught behind off Aamir Jamal for 35 after lunch. Southpaw Saad struck four fours and one six during his 63-ball stay at the crease.

Omair was next to go getting lbw to off-spinner Mubasir Khan for a 75-ball 36, which included five boundaries.

The afternoon session belonged to Northern bowlers as five Sindh wickets fell after the lunch interval and only 61 runs were added in 28 overs.

For Northern, Mubasir and Test fast bowler Musa bagged two wickets apiece while Kashif Ali and Aamir took a wicket each.

Scoreboard

SINDH (1st Innings):

Khurram Manzoor c Rohail b Musa 16

Saim Ayub b Musa 29

Saad Khan c Rohail b Aamer 35

Omair Yousuf lbw b Mubasir 36

Fawad Alam not out 38

Danish Aziz lbw b Kashif 3

Mohammad Hasan run out 0

Mohammad Umar c Mehran b Mubasir 5

Asif Mehmood not out 56

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-3, B- 1, W-6) 12

TOTAL (for seven wickets, 81.1 overs) 230

STILL TO BAT: Aaliyan Mehmood, Shahnawaz Dahani

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-44 (Khurram), 2-62 (Saim), 3-112 (Saad), 4-128 (Omair), 5-145 (Danish), 6-145 (Hasan), 7-151 (Umar)

BOWLING (to-date): Kashif 17-6-32-1 (1nb), Aamer 15.1-1-55-1 (3w), Musa 16-2-53-2 (3w), Mubasir 26-9-59-2, Mehran 6.5-1-26-0, Umar 0.1-0-0-0

NORTHERN: Hasan Raza, Muhammad Hurraira, Umar Amin (captain), Umar Waheed, Mubasir Khan, Aamer Jamal, Rohail Nazir (wicket-keeper), Abdul Faseeh, Mehran Mumtaz, Muhammad Musa, Kashif Ali

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2022