Quaid-e-Azam Trophy: Anwar Jr’s unbeaten century takes KRL to 281

Batsman makes 141 against FATA on opening day of second round

KARACHI: Saeed Anwar Jr, batting on 141 at stumps, helped KRL reach 281-7 on the opening day of their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy second-round match against FATA at the Jinnah Stadium in Sialkot.

Anwar Jr hit 15 boundaries in his 221-ball stay, while Shoaib Ahmed (33) and Zulfiqar Jan (30) also contributed to the team’s total.

For FATA, Asif Afridi and Asif Ali took three and two wickets respectively.

Meanwhile, a strong 141-run partnership between Muhammad Saad and Kamran Akmal helped WAPDA reach 271 against Karachi Blues at the National Stadium of Karachi yesterday.

Asked to bat first, WAPDA posted 271-3 as Saad and Kamran registered unbeaten knocks of 97 and 77 runs respectively, in which the former smashed 11 boundaries and the latter pitched in with nine fours and a six.

Saad was delighted with his performance and hoped to build on the partnership on the second day today. “It was a great start for the team. We (Kamran and I) are looking forward to a forming good partnership which will give the team a good first-innings total,” Saad told The Express Tribune.

He further added, “It is difficult to play in this hot weather but it is a great opportunity to prove my fitness.”

In the other Pool A match, UBL’s Umar Saddique reached 136 off 232 balls in the first innings to take his team to 317-4 on the opening day against Lahore Blues. Sharjeel Khan, who scored 96 runs off 111 balls, and Saeed bin Nasir who made 55, also chipped in with significant knocks.

At the Arbab Niaz Stadium in Peshawar, the hosts posted 287-6 against SSGC with the help of Sahibzada Faran’s 97-run knock, while Mehran Ibrahim (56) and Ashfaq Ahmed (56) also made contributions to the team’s total.

From SSGC, Zafar Gohar and Aamir Yamin took two wickets apiece.

Meanwhile, at the Diamond Ground in Islamabad, Abdul Rehman took three wickets, while Ammad Butt, Yamin Ahmed Zia and Usman Shinwari claimed two scalps apiece to restrict Islamabad to 176 in 54.1 overs. At the end of play, HBL were batting on 67-2 with Inamul Haq on the crease batting on 36.

In the Pool B matches, Karachi Whites made 266-1 as two batsmen managed to cross the century mark at the NBP Stadium in Karachi. Hamza Ghanchi was on 132 at stumps while Bahram Khan made 112 runs off 235 balls against NBP.

At the LCCA Ground, hosts Lahore Whites reached 314-8 as Umar Akmal made 74 off 86 balls, while Muhammad Waqas (46 off 76), Anas Mehmood (45) and Rameez Alam (44) chipped in with important knocks.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 8^th, 2016.

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