Quaid Trophy: Owais spins Hyderabad to big victory

Off-spinner takes six wickets in emphatic win over Bahawalpur.

KARACHI: Off-spinner Nasir Owais claimed a six-wicket haul as hosts Hyderabad demolished Bahawalpur, beating them by an innings and 146 runs in their Group-II Quaid-e-Azam Trophy round five match at the Niaz Stadium.

Bahawalpur, who were struggling at 89 for six while following-on, were bowled out for 173 in 58.4 overs as Ansar Javed made an unbeaten 59 with help of two sixes and five boundaries.

Nasir bagged nine wickets in the match while leg-spinner Zahid Mahmood took six wickets in all as Hyderabad claimed nine points from the win.

Meanwhile, Rawalpindi fast-bowlers got the better of Lahore Shalimar batting line-up – who were all out for 215 in 69.2 overs while chasing a target of 240 – to help their team to a thrilling 24-run win at the Mirpur Stadium.

Shalimar were 134 for three at the start of play needing 106 runs to win but Saad Altaf, Hammad Azam and Haseeb Azam took three wickets apiece to dash their hopes. Rawalpindi took maximum points to go atop Group-II with 24 points ahead of Karachi Whites, who have 21.



In Group-I, Karachi Blues drew against Multan as they made 203 for four in 84 overs during their second-innings. Fakhar Zaman followed up his 79 in first-innings with 83 off 181 balls, hitting 12 boundaries as Blues took three points for taking first-innings lead.

Peshawar also received three points for first-innings lead as their clash with Sialkot ended without a result at the Arbab Niaz Stadium.

The Islamabad-Quetta match was extended for a day as the rescheduling of the match led to an under prepared pitch and crucial play time was lost. Islamabad will resume their second-innings today on 45 for no loss, chasing a target of 252.

Hameed still keen to play for Pakistan

Yasir Hameed, who made a historic Test debut by scoring a century in each innings against Bangladesh, said he is still determined to play for Pakistan and is looking to pile up as much runs as he can during the ongoing tournament.

Hameed  has enjoyed a decent tournament with 393 runs from five matches, scoring a century and three half-centuries so far.

“I feel I still have some unfinished business which is why I’m eager than ever to play for Pakistan again,” Hameed told The Express Tribune. “It has been a good tournament so far, I just need one or two big hundreds or a double ton to make my case stronger. My reflexes are as good as ever and now that I’ve started to spend more time at the wicket, the maturity in my batting is visible.”

The 34-year-old last played for Pakistan on their catastrophic tour of England in 2010 and has been out of the side ever since his controversial video was leaked.

He said he was keeping himself fit with the hopes of re-entering the national team and adjusting to the demands of fast-paced international cricket once again.

“There are several examples of international cricketers who have been doing pretty well despite nearing middle-age. So it’s all about keeping yourself motivated and believing that you can compete with the emerging players of the country.”

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2013.