Zulfiqar takes 10 wickets in drawn game

LAHORE: Left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar claimed 10 wickets in a match as the three-day non-first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture between Central Punjab and Southern Punjab ended in an exciting draw at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad on Monday, says a PCB press release.

The former Test spinner followed up his five for 103 with five for 94 to spin Central Punjab out for 177 in their second innings. This set Southern Punjab, which had conceded an 80-run first innings lead, a victory target of 258 runs.

However, Southern Punjab finished at 146 for six after slipping to 112 for six. Naved Yasin top scored with 50, while Zeeshan Ashraf (34) and Ziaul Haq (28 not out) were the other batsmen of note for the Southern.

For Central Punjab, Aizaz Cheema took three wickets for 26 runs, while Ahmed Safi Abdullah bagged two wickets for 49 runs to end with up with a nine-wicket haul.

The other two matches petered into dull draws.

Scores in brief: At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: Central Punjab 253 all out, 83 overs (Mohammad Akhlaq 135, Ali Zaryab 38, Irfan Khan Niazi 34; Zulfiqar Babar 5-103, Agha Salman Ali 3-45) and 177 all out, 53.2 overs (Mohammad Irfan Khan 37, Bilawal Iqbal 30, Zahid Mansoor 28; Zulfiqar Babar 5-94, Mohammad Irfan Jnr 2-14). Southern Punjab 173 all out, 76.4 overs (Naved Yasin 57, Salman Ali Agha 24, Zulfiqar Babar 20; Ahmed Safi Abdullah 7-77, Aizaz Cheema 2-15) and 146-6, 49 overs ((Naved Yasin 50, Zeeshan Ashraf 34, Ziaul Haq 28 not out; Aizaz Cheema 3-26, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 2-49). Result: Match drawn.

At KRL Stadium, Rawalpindi: Northern 282-8 declared, 83 overs (Faizan Riaz 156 not out, Jamal Anwar 41, Umair Khan 31; Khalid Usman 5-70) and 156-5, 70 overs (Hasan Raza 75, Shehzad Azam 48; Ahmed Jamal 2-22, Khaliq Usman 2-49). Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 246 all out, 80.2 overs (Mohammad Naeem Snr 108, Mehran Ibrahim 47; Raza Hasan 7-55, Shehzad Azam 3-66). Result: Match drawn.

At NBP Sports Complex, Karachi: Balochistan 183 all out, 70.1 overs (Awais Zia 71, Nazar Hussain 21, Ramiz Raja 20; Hassan Khan 4-34, Danish Aziz 2-40) and 227-9 declared, 112.5 overs (Gulraiz Sadaf 73 not out, Taimur Ali 56, Akbarur Rehman 44, Awais Zia 25; Danish Aziz 3-42, Jahid Ali 2-6, Hassan Khan 2-72). Sindh 235 all out, 72.5 overs (Saifullah Bangash 72 not out, Rameez Raja Jnr 48, Mohammad Waqas Jnr 23; Jalat Khan 3-52, Shahzad Tareen 2-26, Nazar Hussain 2-41, Gohar Faiz 2-53) and 25-0, 8 overs. Result: match drawn.