Southern Punjab vs Northern Archives

Nauman powers Northern to enforce first follow-on of QEAT 2022-23

FAISALABAD: Northern’s stand-in captain and left-arm spinner Nauman Ali decimated Southern Punjab’s (SP) batting line-up before enforcing the first follow-on of the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QEAT) 2022-23.

In the first round fixture of the ongoing QEAT, SP found themselves in immense trouble as Northern after accumulating a mammoth 529, bundled out the side for a paltry 269.

SP’s opening batter Zain Abbas put up a fight with his magnificent 120, while the rest of the batters failed to make an impact as Nauman-led Northern bowling attack extended their domination.

Nauman led the way by claiming four wickets, while Musa Khan and Mehran Mumtaz bagged two each.

Northern captain Nauman then further added to the misery of SP by enforcing the first follow-on of the ongoing edition of QEAT as they trailed by 117 runs.

Coming out to bat again after the follow-on SP managed to conclude the third day at 143/2, while Usman Salahuddin (40) and Imran Rafiq (34) will resume the proceedings on the final day.

Mubasir Khan, who bolstered Northern to a massive total in the first inning by smashing 170, removed both SP openers – Umar Siddiq (35) and Zain (32).

At the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Fawad Alam stole the show with his 42nd first-class century, returning unbeaten on 127 and powered Sindh to put up a fighting total of 368 in reply to Central Punjab’s (CP) 428.

Wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed supported Fawad brilliantly amid their 169-run sixth-wicket stand as he smashed an important 78 runs off 196 deliveries, laced with eight boundaries.

CP then stretched their lead to 230 as they amassed 170/4 at stumps with their last inning double-centurion Abdullah Shafique (72*) at the crease, who had the company of Tayyab Tahir – unbeaten on 61.

In another first-round fixture, Balochistan gathered a dominating 289-run lead after bowling out Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for 291 despite a brilliant century from Kamran Ghulam, who smashed 102 off 171 balls.

KP captain Khalid Usman also put up a fight for his side with a gritty knock of 43.

Khurram Shahzad led the bowling attack for Balochistan as he claimed four wickets for 67, while Akif Javed and Kashif Bhatti bagged two each.

Balochistan then recovered from 68/4 to 107/4 to extend their dominance over KP as Hussain Talat (27) and Ali Waqas (12) held their ground firm.

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Abdullah hits double ton before bowlers set CP on top against Sindh

RAWALPINDI: Abdullah Shafique provided a solid start to Central Punjab (CP) with a magnificent double century before bowlers helped the side restrict Sindh to 270/5 on the second day of their ongoing fixture in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QEAT) at Pindi Cricket Stadium here on Wednesday.

Resuming at an overnight score of 358/6, CP extended their domination over Sindh as the side added a crucial 70 runs on the second day.

CP’s star with the bat on the opening day, Abdullah, who bolstered his side to a massive total with his unbeaten knock of 189, carried on his exceptional form on the second day and went on to smash a brilliant double century. He scored 232 off 262 deliveries, laced with 28 boundaries and four sixes.

Sindh bowlers, however, held their nerves calm to decimate the lower order and bowled out CP for 428. Abdullah top-scored for the side with 232, while Aamer Yamin scored an important 70.

In response to CP’s massive total, Sindh had a dismal start to their inning as the side lost three wickets at a paltry score of 94 with skipper Saud Shakeel falling for a mere two.

Sindh’s opening batter Saim Ayub held his ground firm amid his side’s poor start and anchored the inning with a gritty knock. The left-handed batter joined hands with Fawad Alam following the slump and added 40 runs before falling victim to Usama Mir. He scored 71 off 96 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and a six.

Following Saim’s departure, Saad Khan charged on CP bowlers and scored a quick 30 amid his 50-run stand with Fawad. The left-handed batter, however, could not continue his heroics for long and fell prey to CP captain Qasim Akram, causing his side to slip to 184/5.

Sindh wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed then joined Fawad in the middle and put on a valiant unbeaten partnership that powered the side to a rather comfortable position. The duo added 86 runs for the sixth and Sindh, as a result, finished at 270/5 at the stumps.

The pair will now resume the proceedings for Sindh with the side trailing by 158 runs.

Aamer led the bowling attack for CP as he bagged two wickets, while Qasim, Usama Mir, and Mohammad Saad made one scalp each.

In another first-round match, Mubasir Khan followed Abdul Faseeh’s brilliance as he powered Northern to 529/5d against Southern Punjab (SP) with his magnificent knock of 170, while Sarmad Bhatti chipped in with a gritty 81 before the Northern captain opted to declare the inning.

Mubasir top-scored for his side with 170 off 236 balls with the help of 22 boundaries and a six. Whereas, Sarmad scored 81 off 206 deliveries.

For SP, Hassan Khan led the way with three wickets, while Ali Usman bagged two.

In response to Northern’s mammoth 529, SP finished at 128/2 on the conclusion of the second day despite a dismal start as their opener Zain Abbas fought hard with a valiant knock of 69* while Agha Salman scored a supportive 35.

The pair will now resume the proceedings for SP on the third day of their first-round match with a 401-run deficit.

In the first match of the tournament, however, Balochistan strengthened their domination over defending champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) as the side posted a massive 473 before restricting KP to 151/5.

Resuming at an overnight score of 324/5, Balochistan were off to a dismal start as they lost three wickets after adding 42 runs.

Following the early slump, Kashif Bhatti and Khurram Shahzad stood up for their team and put on an astounding 99-run partnership for the ninth wicket. Kashif scored 71 off 84, while Sarmad scored a valiant 47.

For KP, Arshad Iqbal bagged four wickets, while Mohammad Sarwar and Ihsanullah claimed two each. Khalid Usman, on the other hand, made one scalp.

In response to a mammoth 473, KP had a poor start as the side lost three quick wickets for a mere 34.

Kamran Ghulam and Adil Amin then added 67 runs for the fourth wicket and put on a fightback for the defending champions. The pair appeared solid and were looking to bolster them to a decent position before Kashif trapped the latter in his legs to break the important partnership. He scored 39 off 60 deliveries.

Sarwar’s stay at the crease remained brief he fell for a mere four after falling to Khurram and KP as a result, slipped to 108/5.

KP’s hero with the bat Kamran then joined hands with Rehan Afridi and put on an unbeaten 43 runs partnership that lasted till the conclusion of an eventful second day.

Kamran (64*) and Rehan (20*) will now resume the proceedings for KP at 151/5 with a 322 runs deficit.

For Balochistan, Khurram bagged two wickets, while Akif Javed, Hussain Talat, and Kashif made one scalp each.

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Pakistan Cup: Balochistan, KPK, Sindh, CP secure semi-final berths

KARACHI: In the 28th match of the ongoing Pakistan Cup, Central Punjab edged past Sindh by 77 runs, thanks to the brilliant all-round performance by Zafar Gohar to book their spot in the semi-final, while Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), and Balochistan have already qualified.

In the final-round match between CP and Sindh, the home side sealed a resounding 77-runs victory over the third-ranked Sindh at the back of Zafar’s heroics.

Batting first in a must-win game, CP get to a decent total of 261 in the 49th before losing all of their wickets. The right-handed opener Ahmed Shehzad and the all-rounder Zafar led the batting chart with respective fifties, while Umar Akmal also chipped in with a quick 37.

Zafar scored a gritty 51 off 62 balls with the help of four boundaries and two sixes, while Ahmed remained the top-scorer for the home side with 68 off 75 balls, laced with nine boundaries.

For Sindh, Muhammad Umar led the way with three wickets, while Abrar Ahmed followed back with two to his name. Sohail Khan, Mohammad Asghar, Danish Aziz, Saim Ayub, and Mohammad Taha, on the other hand, made one scalp each.

Set to chase 262 in 50 overs, Sindh’s skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed’s half-century went in vain as the side could only score 184 and bowled out in the 42nd over.

Sarfaraz remained the top-scorer for his side with a gritty 59 off 75 deliveries with the help of three boundaries and a six, while the middle-order batter followed back with 27.

The rest of their batters failed in the run chase and seven batters walked back after scoring in single digits.

For CP, Zafar, alongside Hussain Talat led the bowling chart with three wickets each, while Ali Asfand bagged two. The skipper Wahab Riaz made one scalp.

In the 29th match of the ongoing tournament, Southern Punjab (SP) thrashed bottom-ranked Northern by three wickets and 127 balls to spare, thanks to the belligerent hitting by Azam Khan in the run chase.

Set to chase 221, SP appeared to be in a rush to hunt down the total and beat CP’s run rate, however, despite reaching the total with 127 balls to spare, the team was unable to qualify for the knockout stage as CP thrashed Sindh in their match and secured the fourth position with 10 points. Whereas, remained in fifth with eight points.

Azam stole the show with his brilliant power hitting; scoring a quickfire 83 off 39 balls, laced with 11 boundaries and four sixes, while Sharoon Siraj and Muhammad Imran also chipped in with 48 and 40 respectively.

For Northern, Athar Mehmood and Mehran Mumtaz claimed two wickets each, while Salman Irshad and Shadab Majeed struck out a batter each.

Batting first, Northern could only manage to score 220/6 in the allotted 50 overs as some tight bowling from the SP did not allow their batters to score freely.

Northern’s middle-order batters Mubasir Khan and Mohammad Raza-ul-Mustafa scored half-centuries but remained a touch too slow as Mubasir faced 88 balls for his 59, while Raza faced 71 deliveries to score 56.

For SP, Hassan Khan, Ali Majid, Sharoon, Salman Ali Agha, Rahat Ali, and Zia-ul-Haq picked one wicket apiece.

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Pakistan Cup: Table-toppers KPK, Balochistan secure fourth-round triumphs

KARACHI: In the ongoing Pakistan Cup, the table-toppers Kyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Balochistan secured fourth-round victories over Sindh and Central Punjab (CP) respectively, while Southern Punjab (SP) edged past Northern, on Tuesday.

In the 12th match of the ongoing domestic event, KPK have strengthened their top position with a thumping victory of 113 runs over Sindh.

Batting first, the defending champions managed to score 220 before being bowled out in the last over.

Ahmed Khan and Sameen Gul provided a gritty 70-runs partnership for the ninth wicket to anchor the innings when the side was stranded at 121-8. Ahmed scored 44, while Sameen top-scored with his 46. Young wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Haris, on the other hand, scored an important 33 off 35 balls, up the order.

For Sindh, Danish Aziz led the way with three wickets, while Abrar Ahmed and Sohail Khan bagged two each. Mir Hamza and Anwar Ali, on the other hand, managed to make one scalp.

Set to chase 221, Sindh’s batting line-up failed and was bowled out for a mere 107; handing a thumping 113-runs victory to KPK.

The right-handed opening batter Khurram Manzoor resisted a bit with his gritty 26, while the rest of the batters walked back to the pavilion after scoring cheaply.

For KPK, Khalid Usman starred; taking a five-fer, while Arshad Iqbal and Sameen claimed two wickets each. Asif Afridi, on the other hand, struck out a batter.

In the 10th match of the Pakistan Cup, the second-ranked Balochistan sealed a crushing eight-wicket victory over CP, thanks to the unbeaten century from Imran Butt.

Set to chase a skimpy 180, Imran’s brilliance drove the side to the victory in the 37th over. The right-handed batter scored an unbeaten 100 off 168 balls, laced with eight boundaries, while Haseebullah and Abdul Wahid Bangalzai also chipped in with 32 each.

For CP, Qasim Akram and Raza Ali Dar managed to pick one wicket apiece.

Batting first, CP batters failed to bolster their side at a commendable position as the side could only score 179 before being bowled out in the 28th over.

For CP, Qasim and Raza showed resistance with the bat also as Raza scored a valiant 39, while Qasim top-scored with an astonishing 63. The rest of the batters, on the other hand, remained clueless in front of Balochistan’s bowling attack.

For Balochistan, Yashir Shah and Akif Javed took three wickets each, while Khurram Shahzad picked two. Amad Butt, on the other hand, claimed one wicket.

In another match of the ongoing domestic event, SP edged past Northern by 67 runs to secure their first victory of the tournament.

Batting first, Salman Ali Agha’s power-show with the bat powered the side to a commendable total of 284 before bowling out in the 49th over.

Salman scored a terrific 171 off 204 balls, laced with 18 boundaries and six maximums, while the rest of the batters could not contribute significantly.

For Northern, Aamir Jamal took three wickets, while Athar Mehmood, Mubasir Khan, and Musa Khan picked two wickets each. Imad Wasim, on the other hand, claimed one wicket.

Set to chase 285, Northern bowled out for 217 in the 44th over despite brilliant knocks of Mubasir and Rohail Nazir. Mubasir top-scored with 63, while Rohail scored a valiant 40 but the two could not steer their side to the victory as the rest of the batters made their way back after scoring cheaply.

For SP, Aamer Yamin, Khushdil Shah, and Muhammad Imran bagged two wickets each, while Mohammad Abbas Afridi and Salman made one scalp each.

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Salman Ali Agha’s century keeps Southern hoping

KARACHI: Southern Punjab’s Salman Ali Agha scored a brilliant century to help his side avoid a possible disaster against Northern.

In the third match of the ongoing ninth round of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy (QEAT), Southern started poorly as the side lost their first wicket for just 33 runs.

Tayyab Tahir was the dismissed batter, who could only score 14. Soon after, the side lost two more wickets in quick succession and slipped to 65/3.

Salman, however, was impressive, the batter was looking to build partnerships but, no other batter held on for long. Salman scored a brilliant 142 off 183 balls, laced with 23 boundaries and a six.

Salman’s valiant batting display assisted Southern to put 238 runs on the board in their first inning. Zeeshan Ashraf scored 24 and was the top scorer for the side after Salman.

Northern’s Nauman Ali wreaked havoc on the Southern batters, picking six wickets, while Ather Mahmood and Mubashir Khan each took two wickets.

In reply to Southern’s 238, Northern started horrifically, losing their first two wickets for just nine runs. Muhammad Huraira bagged a duck, while, last match centurion, Sarmad Bhatti, could only score four.

Zaid Khan then looked to build a partnership with his skipper Umer Amin, but, he too dismissed. Zaid could only score 20, and the Northern were three down for 41.

Umer and Faizan Riaz then neutralized the situation as both the batters ensured that their side do not lose any wickets. Umer (17*) and Faizan (10*), will resume the proceedings for Northern at 54/3 on day two.

Muhammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, and Muhammad Ilyas each took a wicket for Southern.

In the second match of the ninth round, Central Punjab’s bowlers annihilated the Sindh batting lineup as the table-toppers were forced to declare at 155/9 in the first inning.

Batting first, Sindh started poorly, losing two wickets for just four. Khurram Manzoor scored one, while Ahsan Ali could only score three.

The side began to lose wickets at a consistent rate and were slipped to 51/6. Fawad Alam and Sohail Khan, showed fightback, the pair recorded 64 runs partnership before Fawad dismissed on 32.

Sindh’s batting tail also failed, and the side, eventually, declared at 155/9. Sohail top-scored for his side with a gritty 65.

Muhammad Ali and Muhammad Saad, starred for their side, picking three wickets each. Whereas, Waqas Mahmood, Faheem Ashraf and Ahmed Safi Abdullah each dismissed a batter.

In response to Sindh’s 155, Central’s start was not any different, losing first two wickets for just 16 runs. Soon after, the side lost their batter, Ali Zaryab, who could only score 12.

Abid Ali, however, stood firm for his side and remained not-out for his 45 before the stumps.

Abid (45*) and Saad (11*) will resume the proceedings for Central at 78/3 on the second day.

Sohail, Tabish Khan and Mir Hamza each took a wicket for Sindh.

In another match of the ongoing round, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) bowlers fired at each other as 22 wickets fell on the first day.

Batting first, KPK batters struggled to get going and were dismissed one after another at an alarming rate, none of their batter could fightback and the side, eventually, bundled out for just 116 in the first inning.

Taj Wali and kashif Bhatti claimed four wickets each, while Gohar Faiz and Raza Ul Hassan shared one wicket apiece.

In response to KPK’s 116, Balochistan showed even worse batting display, having bowled for a skimpy 100 in their first inning.

Arshad Iqbal starred for KPK, picking up four wickets, while Imran Khan Sr., Sameen Gull Asif Afridi took two wickets each.

Starting with a 16-runs lead, KPK failed again and lost two wickets for just 11 runs in the second inning. Israr Ullah and Sahibzada Farhan, both batters could only score four.

Ashfaq Ahmed remained not-out on 3, and will now resume the innings with Kamran Ghulam for KPK at 17/2 on the second day.

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