President’s Trophy: PIA tighten reins with big win

Airliners claim nine-wicket victory over ZTBL on final day.

KARACHI: PIA made their presence felt in the President’s Trophy following a nine-wicket win over ZTBL on the final day of the seventh round in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.  

The airliners, who were struggling after the sixth round, leapfrogged from ninth to the seventh position.

It was a defiant seventh-wicket partnership of 294 runs between wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed (165) and Tahir Khan (141) that crafted the much-needed victory for the airliners.

Although opposing team’s Imran Nazir put up a gallant show, his 152 from just 130 deliveries was not enough to save ZTBL from defeat.

The bankers, who resumed play on the final day at 262 for four, were all out for 354. PIA achieved the target in the eighth over after losing opener Shehzar Mohammad.

Left-arm seamer Najaf Shah stole the honours of the day after completing a six-wicket haul for the winning side. Captain Kamran Sajid and Tahir took a brace each.

Hamad, Abbas help NBP avoid defeat

All-rounder Hammad Azam and Qaiser Abbas steered NBP to a draw against leaders SNGPL.

NBP faced a follow-on on day three after being restricted to 204 in their first-innings in reply to SNGPL’s 394.

They began the final day on 132 for four, needing 58 more runs to come even with SNGPL’s first-innings score.

However, Qaiser Abbas and Hammad Azam hit unbeaten knocks of 115 and 106 runs respectively to take victory beyond SNGPL’s reach.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 25^th, 2013.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.