Karachi outclass ZTBL in Quaid Trophy

HBL stage brilliant comeback to defeat Abbottabad by three wickets.

Karachi Blues turned around their fortunes, winning by a huge margin of an innings and 12 runs against ZTBL on the last day of their Quaid-i-Azam Trophy match, after having lost their opening fixture against SBP last week.

ZTBL resumed their innings on 174 for six and were looking to make another 34 to make Karachi bat again, but were bowled out after adding only 22 more runs to the total. Captain Mohammad Sami ended up with a five-wicket haul, while fast-bowler Tariq Haroon snared four scalps for 51 runs.

Shahzad leads HBL to win

HBL staged a brilliant comeback to defeat Abbottabad by three wickets, chasing down an imposing 369. Openers Shan Masood and Ahmed Shahzad laid the foundations of the run-chase, with vital help from Hasan Raza (36*).

Masood made 74 but the star of the show was Shahzad, who made a brilliant 161. The Pakistan discard hit 26 boundaries and a six in his match-winning knock.

SBP draw with Sialkot

Meanwhile, the match between SBP and Sialkot ended in a draw, with the hosts finishing the day on 11 for one after having been set a winning target of 204 to win. SBP, 53 for one overnight, were bowled out for 220 in their second innings. For Sialkot, Prince Abbas impressed with figures of five for 79.

Rawalpindi's brave attempt thwarted

Rawalpindi made a brilliant attempt at chasing down a stiff target of 354 against PIA but fell just short, ending the last day of the match at 336 for five. The hosts' brave effort was led by Naveed Malik who stroked a fine unbeaten 139.

Earlier, PIA had resumed their innings on a comfortable 185 for two but the Rawalpindi bowlers triggered a collapse, taking six wickets for 44 runs.

NBP hang on to a draw

Islamabad and NBP were involved in an exciting encounter, with the hosts failing to take the last two wickets as NBP held on to finish at 287 for eight, chasing  369 to win. NBP were off to a brilliant start courtesy openers Khurram Manzoor (107) and Nasir Jamshed (85). The two put on 192 but their departure triggered a collapse. Off-spinner Afaq Raheem claimed six wickets.

WAPDA win by seven wickets 

Wapda strolled to a seven-wicket win against Faisalabad, reaching the 262-run target soon after resuming on 205 for three. Aamir Sajjad (72*) and Rana Navedul Hasan (93*) ensured Wapda got to their target with ease.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2011.