Tag: Central Punjab vs Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

ABBOTTABAD: Northern outclassed Balochistan by 10 wickets in the round three fixture of the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23, while Sindh versus Southern Punjab (SP) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) versus Central Punjab (CP) matches ended in draws. 

Balochistan, resuming at 136/5, requiring a further 168 to make Northern bat, saw their batter Hussain Talat putting on a remarkable fight as he smashed an unbeaten century and powered his side to add 200 runs before bundling out for 336.

Set to chase a mere 33, Northern took just 43 balls to seal a comprehensive 10-wicket victory and carried on their domination in the standings.

The last four Balochistan wickets accumulated 107 runs, with Hussain dominating the scoring.

The left-handed batter struck an unbeaten 115 from 178 balls with 15 fours and two sixes. He also put on 93 runs for the sixth wicket with Khurram Shahzad (59 from 89 balls with 11 fours).

Northern’s Mubasir Khan bettered his 3/18 with 3/50 for a match haul of six wickets for 68 runs.

At the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Sindh held SP for a draw courtesy of an unbeaten century from Omair Bin Yousuf, while young Saim Ayub missed his maiden century by five runs in tense second innings.

Sindh resuming their 381 run chase at 57/0, managed to finish the final day at 326/7. Omair’s 110 came off 192 balls and contained 15 fours, while Saim’s 138-ball 95 included 12 fours and two sixes.

For SP, Mohammad Abbas bagged three wickets, while Ahmed Bashir returned with 2/53.

The third-round fixture between defending champions KP and CP at Iqbal Stadium also ended in a draw as the persistent rain and wet outfield halted one-and-a-half day’s play.

Following no action on the third day, CP resumed their first innings at 173/4 in response to KP’s 220 and could only add 101 runs before bundling out for 274.

Khalid Usman and Test spinner Sajid Khan rattled the CP batting attack as they bagged six and four wickets respectively.

Starting their second innings with a 54-run deficit, KP were 174/3 at the conclusion of the final day despite a dismal start.

Sahibzada Farhan, who scored an unbeaten century, put on a 142-run partnership with Rehan Afridi (54*) and made sure to protect his side from any stutter.

Farhan’s undefeated hundred came off 121 balls and included 13 fours and a six.

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RAWALPINDI: Southern Punjab’s (SP) batter Zain Abbas scored his seventh career century but Sindh’s spinner Abrar Ahmed bagged his second 10-wicket haul as the third-round fixture of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy between the two sides entered into an exciting phase.

Zain, resuming his overnight score of 48, carried on his domination over the Sindh bowlers as he amassed his century to power his side to a respectable total.

The left-handed batter scored 138 as SP accumulated 283 in the second innings after they already had a 97-run first innings lead.

Zain faced 195 deliveries amid his brilliant knock and smashed 13 boundaries and two sixes.

Abrar, on the other hand, followed up his first innings figures of 37.3-10-94-5 with 31.5-3-100-6 for match figures of 11/194.

Set to chase 381, Sindh finished at 57/0 at the stumps. Saim Ayyub (43*) and Khurram Manzoor (14*) will now resume the run chase for their side on the final day.

Meanwhile at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium in Abbottabad, Northern are on the cusp of a resounding victory over Balochistan as the latter finished the penultimate day at 136/5 in their second innings after Northern captain Nauman Ali enforced the follow-on.

Earlier in the day, Balochistan resumed their first innings at 108/4 in reply to Northern’s 520/8.

Balochistan then skittled out for 216 with only with Hussain Talat (48) and Yasir Shah (31) notable scorers.

Mubasir Khan led the bowling attack with 3/18, while Athar Mehmood, Kashif Ali and Aamir Jamal evenly shared two wickets each.

Ali Waqas (41) and Imran Butt (38) had provided Balochistan with a 59-run start before slipping to 104/3 and then lost two more wickets at the score of 136. They need further 168 runs to avoid an inning defeat.

The wet outfield at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, following persistent rain on Monday halted the action between Central Punjab (CP) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on a penultimate day.

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ABBOTTABAD: Right-handed batter Faizan Riaz scored an unbeaten double-century to put Northern in a commanding position in the third-round fixture of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QEAT) against Balochistan.

Resuming his overnight century with Northern at 347/3, Faizan continued his domination over Balochistan bowlers and converted into a magnificent double century.

Faizan’s brilliant knock during which he faced 216 balls and hit 27 fours and a six, lifted Northerns to declare at 520/8.

Balochistan found themselves in trouble as they were tottering at the end of the second day at 108/4 with Haris Sohail (26) and Hussain Hussain (9) at the crease.

Captain Asad Shafiq put on a great fight as he scored 53 before becoming one of the two victims of Kashif Ali (2/35).

On the second day, majorly dominated by Northern, Balochistan had something to cheer as their bowler Taj Wali completed the 19th five-wicket haul of his career.

In another second-round fixture, Southern Punjab (SP) pacer Mohammad Ilyas decimated the Sindh’s batting lineup for a paltry 181 In response to the SP’s first innings total of 278.

The right-arm pacer finished with figures of 15-5-50-5, while Ahmed Bashir claimed three and Mohammad Abbas two to further add to the opposition’s misery.

Earlier, Sindh’s mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed finished with astonishing figures of 37.3-10-94-5, bagging his third five-wicket haul.

Sindh’s Muhammad Umar (59), Saad Khan (36) and Fawad Alam (32) put on a fight against a berserk bowling trio of SP.

SP now lead Sindh by 174 runs with seven second innings wickets intact as they finished 77/3 at the conclusion of the second day.

Meanwhile at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, an early afternoon rain halted a majority of the action of the second-round fixture between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Central Punjab (CP).

CP resumed their first innings at 24/0 in response to KP’s 220 and were 173/4 when rain forced an early closure to the day’s play.

Abid Ali top-scored with 66, while Abdullah Shafique scored 51.

KP’s Khalid Usman remained the top pick among their bowlers as he finished with figures of 3/52.

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RAWALPINDI: Imran Khan Snr led the bowling attack with four wickets against Central Punjab (CP) to power the defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) to their maiden victory in the recently-commenced National T20 Cup 2022.

Set to chase 166 in 20 overs, CP fell 16 runs short in the end, and finished at 147/9 in 19.1 overs as their captain Faheem Ashraf remained unavailable to bat due to an injury.

The side were off to a dismal start to their run chase as they lost two wickets for a mere 33 in five overs. Tayyab Tahir and Qasim Akram then anchored the innings with an important 57-run partnership for the third wicket.

The pair appeared solid and was looking to take the game into CP’s favour before Arshad Iqbal castled Qasim in the 12th over. The right-handed batter scored a run-a-ball 15.

Following the breakthrough, CP ran into a frustrating lower-order collapse and as a result, slipped to 147/8 in 19 overs with their top-scorer Tayyab being the latest casualty. He scored a brilliant 72 off 45 deliveries, laced with five boundaries and three sixes.

CP captain Faheem, who sustained an injury while bowling in the first inning could not bat in the run chase forcing the side to finish at 147/9 with five balls to spare.

Imran Snr was the pick of the bowlers for KPK as he returned with match-winning bowling figures of 4-27, while Asif Afridi and Mohammad Imran bagged two wickets each. Arshad, on the other hand, made a timely scalp.

Batting first, KPK managed to register a decent total of 165/6 in the allotted 20 overs, thanks to the combined batting effort from the defending champions.

Kamran Ghulam remained the top scorer for the side with 39 off 32 deliveries, while Mohammad Sarwar Afridi followed back with a quickfire 30 off 21 balls.

Ali Asfand led the bowling attack for CP with two wickets, while Wahab Riaz, Usama Mir, and Irfan Khan Niazi struck out a batter each.

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MULTAN: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)’s top-order batter Kamran Ghulam starred with a magnificent hundred after Mohammad Imran and Sajid Khan shone with three wickets each to power the defending champions beat Central Punjab (CP) by six wickets, here on Monday.

Set to chase 287, KPK comfortably steered to the victory in the 49th over, thanks to the astonishing century from Kamran, who top-scored for the side with 109.

The defending champions had an unwanted start to their run chase as the side lost their first wicket for a mere 22. Muhammad Mohsin Khan lost his wicket due to a run-out. The left-handed batter could only score two.

Ashfaq Ahmed and Kamran then added 130-runs for the second wicket before Ashfaq perished in the 28th over. Ashfaq remained the second top-scorer for the side with his brilliant half-century. The right-handed batter scored 71 off 86 balls.

Kamran then put on another valiant partnership with Adil Amin. The duo batted sensibly with Adil scoring a half-century, while Kamran went on to score a terrific century.

Kamran, however, made his way back after amassing his century, he scored 109 off 120 balls with the help of 10 boundaries and three sixes.

Whereas, Adil, who lost his wicket in the 49th over, scored 60 off 58 deliveries, laced with three boundaries and a six.

For CP, Ali Asfand, Rizwan Hussain, and Qasim Akram made one scalp each.

Batting first, CP managed to score 286/9 in the allotted 50 overs at the back of the fifties from Hussain Talat and Qasim.

After opting to bat first, CP had a below-par start to their innings as the side lost their first four wickets with 78 runs on the scoreboard in the 18th over.

The dependent pair of CP – Hussain and Qasim then anchored the innings with an important 108-runs partnership for the fifth wicket and took the score to 187 in the 34th over before Hussain made his way back.

The left-handed batter scored 63 in 71 balls, laced with five boundaries and a six, while Qasim top-scored for the side with 67. The right-handed batter faced 63 deliveries and smashed 10 boundaries in the course of his gritty knock.

Later, all-rounder Saad Nasim also chipped in with his unbeaten 46 in 42 balls, laced with three boundaries and a six.

For KPK, Imran and Sajid led the way with three wickets each, while Imran Khan followed back with two. Sameen Gul, on the other hand, struck out a batter.

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