Karachi: On the last day of the final Quaid-e-Azam trophy round, Central Punjab overtook Southern Punjab to book a slot in the final encounter. Balochistan pinned Sindh while the rubber between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Northern ended in a draw.
KP had already qualified for the finale to face Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, scheduled from January 1st at the National Stadium.
At the State Bank Stadium defending champions, Central Punjab beat Southern Punjab by 10 wickets. On the last day Central Punjab needed 63 runs which they wrapped up without loss. Mohammad Akhlaq and Mohammad Saad stood not-out on 38 and 25 runs respectively.
Southern Punjab resumed their innings from 314, this morning, and got all-out for 368. Saif Badar scored 52.
Central Punjab’s skipper Hasan Ali bagged three wickets for 91. Earlier Central Punjab posted 493 runs in their first innings and in reply, Southern Punjab faced the follow-on after managing 187.
At the UBL Sports Complex, Balochistan nudged Sindh by nine wickets after successfully chasing the 99-run target on the last day.
Ali Rafiq pilled up 55 runs without getting dismissed, Imran Farhat scored 31.
Sindh, after getting followed on, restated the second innings from 208 with Khurram Manzoor on 82 and Abrar Ahmed on zero. Khurram Manzoor perished on 94. Asad Shafiq played a hand of 56. The Sindh outfit were limited to 317. Balochistan, in their first innings, scored 414 while Sindh, in reply, managed 195 and followed up with 317 in the second innings. Balochistan’s Kashif Bhatti siphoned off eight, Jalat Khan picked up five scalps.
The encounter, between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Northern ended in a draw at the National stadium. Northern were on 108-5, in their second innings when curtains were drawn on the match. Northern required 474 run to win. Mohammad Nawaz amassed 28 runs, KP’s Khalid Usman picked up three, Sajid Khan got a couple of wickets.
Earlier KP resumed their second innings from 87-3 and declared on 252-8. Adil Amin (77) and Kamran Ghulam (51) were the notable scorers. Mohammad Nawaz pocketed five wickets for 69 runs.
KP knitted 521 runs in the first innings and Northern replied with 336 in their first go.