Sajid Khan’ seventh five-wicket haul bowled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to a commanding win over Sindh by the margin of an innings and 37 runs and Zia-ul-Haq’s career-best seven for 35 secured Southern Punjab an impressive 205-run win over Sindh on the fourth and final day of the seventh round first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixtures on Friday.
Sajid’s impressive run of form continued at the State Bank Stadium as the 27-year-old added three wickets to his tally on the fourth and final day of the match as he accounted for Saad Khan (tw0), Hasan Mohsin (15) and Mir Hamza (one) after he had dismissed openers Sharjeel Khan (51) and Omair Bin Yousuf (six) yesterday.
Following the victory, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, who pocketed 25 points from the match, leapfrogged Northern to secure the top spot on the six-team points table.
Sajid returned five for 49 to record his fourth five-fer of the ongoing season as Sindh were bowled out for a paltry 148. He played an instrumental role with the figures of three for 66 in dismissing the opposition for 229 in the first innings, following which Khyber Pakhtunkhwa posted a mammoth 414.
Sindh were five wickets down and required 65 more runs to avoid an innings defeat when the play resumed on Friday.
Saud Shakeel failed to add to his overnight 50 as pacer Irfanullah Shah bowled him. All-rounder Hasan was the only batsman to post a double-digit score for Sindh on the last day of the match.
Pacer Mohammad Wasim Jnr was the other notable performer with the ball for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as he bagged three wickets for 37 runs.
At the National Stadium, Zia-ul-Haq celebrated his birthday in style as his career-best seven for 35 helped Southern Punjab to a thumping 205-run win over Balochistan in front of the broadcast cameras.
The left-arm pacer bowled a scorching spell in the morning session as he peppered the opposition batsmen with short-pitched deliveries to create catching opportunities for close-in fielders.
Ayaz Tasawar, who was unbeaten on 25, ran out of partners as Zia’s ran through Balochistan’s middle and lower-order.
His scalps included Akbar-ur-Rehman (57), Taimur Ali (one), Bismillah Khan (0), Kashif Bhatti (four), Umaid Asif (three), Jalat Khan (0) and Taj Wali (0) as Balochistan were bowled out for 199 after starting the play on 112 for two.
Veteran top-order batsman Imran Farhat added 21 runs to his overnight score as he was bowled by another beautiful delivery from Zahid Mahmood on 84 (120 balls, 11 fours). He had the company of Akbar who resumed his knock on 29. Akbar hit four fours from 103 balls he faced.
Southern Punjab gathered 24 points from this match and are now just one point behind Northern, who are ranked second with 104 points.
Balochistan, who could add only four points to their tally, slipped to the fifth position.
Title defenders Central Punjab, who gained 22 points from the victory against Northern yesterday, bounced to the fourth spot. This was Central Punjab’s second win in a row and they will be hoping that the streak continues when they take on Balochistan at the State Bank Stadium in the next round, which begins on 14 December.
In the other two fixtures of the eighth round, Southern Punjab will face Khyber Pakhtunkhwa at the UBL Sports Complex, while Sindh will take on Northern at the National Stadium in a contest which will be broadcast in Pakistan and beamed across the globe through PCB’s YouTube Channel.
Scores in brief
At the State Bank Stadium, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa beat Sindh by an innings and 37 runs
Sindh 229 all out, 81.2 overs (Asad Shafiq 60, Sharjeel Khan 57; Irfanullah Shah 5-33, Sajid Khan 3-66) and 148 all out, 50.4 overs (Sharjeel Khan 51, Saud Shakeel 50; Sajid Khan 5-49, Mohammad Wasim Jr 3-37)
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 414 all out, 126.5 overs (Kamran Ghulam 166, Rehan Afridi 87, Fakhar Zaman 62, Khalid Usman 25; Mir Hamza 3-89, Tabish Khan 3-104, Shahnawaz Dhani 2-100)
Match points: Sindh 2 (one for batting, one for bowling), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 25 (16 outright win, one for an innings win, three for batting, five for bowling)
At the National Stadium, Southern Punjab beat Balochistan by 205 runs
Southern Punjab 256 all out, 79.5 overs (Salman Ali Agha 50, Zahid Mahmood 45, Zain Abbas 40, Saif Badar 24, Muhammad Imran 24; Taj Wali 3-66, Umaid Asif 2-35, Jalat Khan 2-64, Kashif Bhatti 2-90) and 312 (Imran Rafiq 97, Mohammad Umair 59, Saif Badar 53, Zain Abbas 33; Jalat Khan 5-76, Umaid Asif 3-103)
Balochistan 164 all out, 41.4 overs (Ayaz Tasawar 76, Bismillah Khan 24, Jalat Khan 20; Aamer Yamin 6-47, Mohammad Ilyas 2-53) and 199 all out, 55.4 overs (Imran Farhat 84, Akbar-ur-Rehman 57, Ayaz Tasawar 25 not out; Zia-ul-Haq 7-35, Aamer Yamin 2-50)
Match points: Southern Punjab 24 (16 for outright win, two for batting, six for bowling), Balochistan 4 (all bowling)
On Thursday: At UBL Sports Complex, Central Punjab beat Northern by six wickets
Northern 243 all out, 57 overs (Asif Ali 72 not out, Mohammad Nawaz 50, Hammad Azam 47, Umar Amin 29; Hasan Ali 4-48, Bilawal Iqbal 3-91, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 2-31) and 156 all out, 45.3 overs (Nasir Nawaz 42, Hammad Azam 22, Nauman Ali 22; Ahmed Safi Abdullah 4-46, Hasan Ali 3-30, Bilawal Iqbal 2-36)
Central Punjab 234 all out, 81 overs (Muhammad Akhlaq 67, Ali Zaryab 45, Qasim Akram 31, Saad Nasim 30; Nauman Ali 7-84) and 166-4, 44.5 overs (Mohammad Saad 50 not out, Saad Nasim 39, Ali Zaryab 31, Qasim Akram 23 not out; Nauman Ali 4-69)
Match points: Central Punjab 22 (16 for outright win, one for batting, five for bowling), Northern 6 (one for batting, five for bowling)
