Sports Bulletin

Central Punjab poised for victory in Faisalabad   SB Report  Karachi, November 6:Central Punjab took control of their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy four-day first-class match against Northern at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad on Wednesday. Day-three of the match belonged to Central Punjab’s batsmen as Rizwan Hussain’s 110, Umar Akmal’s 73 and Usman Salahuddin’s unbeaten 72 helped the home side amass 345 for six declared in their second innings.  Set a 381-run target, Northern were struggling to avoid a defeat as they stumbled to 121 for five by close of play, still needing a further 260 runs for a win with only five second innings wickets remaining. Zeeshan Malik with 52 off 58 balls, nine fours and one six was the only one to confront the Central Punjab bowlers with some confidence.  The spin duo of Bilal Asif and Zafar Gohar who shared seven wickets in the first innings took all five wickets to fall. Zafar has so far taken three for 46 in 20 overs while Bilal has taken two wickets for 38 runs in 13 overs.  Earlier, resuming at the overnight score of 137 for two, Central Punjab pushed on the accelerator by adding 116 runs for the loss of two wickets in the first session of the day. They maintained their run scoring momentum in the second session before declaring the innings.  Opener Rizwan Hussain compiled his 110 off 123 balls, striking eight fours and four sixes. Umar Akmal who made fifties in both innings, was dismissed for 73, he faced 90 balls and struck nine fours and two sixes.  Usman faced 97 balls for his unbeaten 72 that included seven fours and three sixes. Northern’s captain Nauman Ali who took eight wickets in the first innings had to settle for three costly wickets in the second innings as he conceded 160 runs in 28 overs.  In Abbottabad, the third day’s play of the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh had to be called-off due to rain.  Scores in brief:  Central Punjab 226 all out, 69.1 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 55, Umar Akmal 52, Salman Butt 41; Nauman Ali 8-71) and 345 for 6 declared, 66.3 overs (Rizwan Hussain 110, Umar Akmal 73, Usman Salahuddin 72 not out; Nauman Ali 3-160)  Northern 191 all out, 64.1 overs (Hammad Azam 52,Umar Amin 42; Zafar Gohar 4-54, Bilal Asif 3-57) and 121 for 5, 40 overs (Zeeshan Malik 52, Umar Amin 27; Zafar Gohar 3-46, Bilal Asif 2-38)

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Second XI Taimur scores century for Balochistan in a drawn match    Lahore, (November 6, 2019):Balochistan’s Taimur Ali scored a century in a drawn match against Central Punjab on the third-day of the seventh-round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at the Itefaq Cricket Ground in Lahore on Wednesday.  Resuming their first innings on 329 for three, Central Punjab managed to score 390 for five in 83 overs.  Raza Ali Dar scored 43 off 55 balls, he hit three fours.  In return, Balochistan in their second innings were 252 for four in 68 overs when stumps were drawn.  Taimur Ali scored 104 off 160 balls which included 15 fours and two sixes. Akbar-ur-Rehman contributed a 88-ball 57 which included six fours.  The duo contributed 120 runs partnership for the third wicket.  For Central Punjab, Raza Ali Dar, Saad Nasim and Waqas Maqsood took one wicket each.  Scores in brief:  Balochistan v Central Punjab, Itefaq Cricket Ground, Lahore  Balochistan 276 all-out, 78.2 overs (Haseeb Azam 82, Taimur Ali 73, Akbar-ur-Rehman 47; Mohammad Ali 5-61, Raza Ali 2-30, Ahmed Bashir 2-38) and 252-4, 68 overs (Taimur Ali 104, Akbar-ur-Rehman 57)  Central Punjab 390-5, 83 overs (Muhammad Akhlaq 148, Ali Zaryab 107, Raza Ali Dar 43; Atif Jabbar 2-75, Ali Shafiq 2-94)

   Southern Punjab strengthen stranglehold on Balochistan SB Report  Lahore (November 6, 2019):Southern Punjab had Balochistan following-on at 30 for two when stumps were drawn on the third day of the four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy sixth-round fixture at Quetta’s Bugti Stadium. After setting up a mammoth first innings score of 502 all-out, Southern Punjab skittled out Balochistan for 295 in 79.3 overs at the back of right-arm medium-fast Umaid Asif’s five-wicket haul. Balochistan had resumed their innings on 37 for one and soon found themselves in a quagmire after losing two more wickets with 58 runs on board with their overnight batsmen Azeem Ghumman and Imran Butt back in the pavilion, courtesy Umaid. A 119-run partnership for the fourth-wicket between Imran Farhat and Hussain Talat followed, which denied further inroads to the pacer - at least for a while. Balochistan’s captain Imran scored 65 from 77 balls, hitting 10 fours in his 117-minute stay at the crease before he was caught behind off Umaid’s bowling. All-rounder Hussain held the other end, setting up a 67-run partnership for the fifth-wicket with Bismallah Khan (36). During his 167-ball stay at the crease, Hussain, the only batsman in the innings to consume 100 or more deliveries in the innings, scored 89 runs, hitting 10 fours. He too was removed by Umaid, who dismissed four of the top five Balochistan batsmen. The lanky pacer returned five for 57 – his ninth five-fer in first-class cricket. Right-arm medium-fast Mohammad Irfan jnr and leg-break Zahid Mahmood took two wickets each for 53 and 57 runs. With Balochistan 207 runs behind, Southern Punjab captain Sami Aslam enforced the follow-on. Umaid stretched his wicket-taking form into Balochistan’s second innings and sent opener Awais Zia (five) back into the pavilion with only five runs on the board. The batting side lost their second wicket after 22 runs when Irfan accounted for the wicket of Imran (five). Azeem (11) and nightwatchman Jalat Khan (two) batted at the close of play as Balochistan trailed by 177 runs. After accumulating maximum batting points yesterday, Southern Punjab bagged three bowling points for picking nine or more wickets in 110 overs. Balochistan managed two points for passing the 250-run mark. Third day of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh called-off In Abbottabad, no ball was bowled on day three of the first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture between Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh as play had to be called-off due to rain. Scores in brief:  Southern Punjab v Balochistan Southern Punjab 502 all-out, 129.3 overs (Sami Aslam 168, Umar Siddique 130, Adnan Akmal 80, Abdul Rehman Muzamil 41, Sohaib Maqsood 36, Mohammad Irfan 23; Mohammad Asghar 5-130; Amad Butt 4-103) Balochistan 295 all-out, overs 79.3 overs (Hussain Talat 89, Imran Farhat 65, Bismillah Khan 36, Amad Butt 32, Imran Butt 23; Umaid 5-57, Mohammad Irfan jnr 2-53, Zahid Mahmood 2-57) and after follow-on 30-2, 15 overs (Azeem Ghumman 11 not out; Umaid Asif 1-3, Mohammad Irfan jnr 1-11) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 288 all-out, 106 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 88, Rehan Afridi 57 not out, Sajid Khan 39, Israrullah 36, Zohaib Khan 28; Sohail Khan 4-62, Hassan Khan 2-37, Mir Hamza 2-65)  Sindh 147-3, 36 overs (Omair Bin Yousaf 56, Saud Shakeel 35 not out, Fawad Alam 29 not out; Junaid Khan 2-49)

    Sami (149no) and Umar (130) send Balochistan on a leather hunt   SB Report LAHORE (November 4, 2019):-A 283-run opening wicket stand between Sami Aslam and Umar Siddique made Balochistan pay the price for electing to bowl first as Southern Punjab reached 296 for one on the opening day of the four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Left-handed Sami was at the crease on 149, his 13th first-class century, while Umar was dismissed after scoring 130, his 11th first-class century. When play ended early due to fading light, Sohaib Maqsood was the other not out batsman on seven. Sami has so far hit 14 fours and two sixes in a 255-ball innings, while Umar’s 255-ball stay was studded with 14 fours and a six. The only wicket to fall in a day that saw 86.3 overs being bowled was grabbed by left-arm spinner Mohammad Asghar. When play resumes on Tuesday, Sami will not only aim to collect his second double-century of the season but will also try to help Southern Punjab to reach 400 runs in 110 overs so that his side can collect the five maximum points. In contrast, Balochistan will target to pick up at least two more wickets that will give them one bowling point. They can pocket another point if they can grab a total of six wickets at the 110-over mark. Scores in brief: Southern Punjab 296-1, 86.3 overs (Sami Aslam 149 not out, Umar Siddique 130) vBalochistan

Captain Nauman Ali takes eight wickets as Northern bowl out Central Punjab for 226   SB Report FAISALABAD (November 4, 2019):-Northern made a strong start to their Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament round-six first-class match against Central Punjab by bowling out the hosts for 226 runs on day-one of the four-day match at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad on Monday. Left-arm-spinner Nauman Ali who is captaining Northern in the match led from the front collecting eight wickets for 71 runs in 20.1 overs as Central Punjab were spun-out for a below-par first innings total. Central Punjab won the toss and opted to bat first; the first session was evenly shared between the two sides as Central Punjab reached 105 for two at lunch. In the post-lunch session Northern bowlers held the upper hand, Central Punjab lost four additional wickets to finish the session at 198 for six. Captain Ahmed Shehzad (55 off 112 balls, nine fours), Umar Akmal (52 off 66 balls, three fours and three sixes) and Salman Butt (41 off 59 balls, six fours) were the main run getters for the hosts. In the post-tea session, Nauman took all four wickets to fall as Central Punjab lost their last four wickets for the addition of 28 runs. This was Nauman’s best-ever bowling in a first-class innings.  Northern openers batted with confidence in reply, ending the day at 47 for one in 10 overs. Haider Ali was the only wicket to fall; he was dismissed by Aizaz Cheema for 12 runs. Northern’s captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Rohail Nazir was ruled out of the match due to a hand injury, Nauman replaced him as captain with Jamal Anwar donning the gloves. Scores in brief: Central Punjab 226 all out, 69.1 overs (Ahmed Shehzad 55, Umar Akmal 52, Salman Butt 41; Nauman Ali 8-71) Northern 47 for 1, 10 overs (Umer Amin 19 not out; Aizaz Cheema 1-23)

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa score 225 for six against Sindh   SB Report ABBOTTABAD (November 4, 2019):-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were 225 for six at the close of play on day one of their sixth-round first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture against Sindh at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Sahibzada Farhan led the home side from front by cracking a 164-ball 88, in which he hit 13 fours, after Sindh captain Sarfaraz Ahmed opted against contesting the toss and bowled first. Farhan stitched a 54-run partnership for the first-wicket with Israrullah, who scored an aggressive 34-ball 36 with seven fours. After Israrullah’s dismissal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa lost next two wickets for 30 runs, but a 78-run stand for the fourth-wicket between Farhan and Zohaib Khan (28 off 93) denied further inroads to Sindh’s bowlers. With the wickets of Ashfaq Ahmed (five) and Nabi Gul (eight), Sohail Khan took the most wickets for the visitors on day one in which 79 overs were bowled. The right-arm fast-bowler delivered 17 overs, which included three maidens, and gave 48 runs. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Rehan Afridi and Sajid Khan will resume their innings on 33 and 17 when second day’s play commences on Tuesday at 1000. Scores in brief:  Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 225-6, 79 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 88, Israrullah 36, Rehan Afridi 33 not out, Zohaib Khan 28; Sohail Khan 2-48)

Quaid-e Azam Trophy Second XI Jahid Ali scores a century     SB Report KARACHI (November 4, 2019):-Jahid Ali scored 123 off 179 balls as Sindh posted a first innings score of 436 for four against Northern 368 at the State Bank Stadium, Karachi on the second-day of the seventh-round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches on Monday. Opener Jahid’s innngs included 11 fours and a six. Shehzar Mohammad was unlucky to get out on 99 to Raza ul Hasan. His 131-ball innings included nine fours and a six. Ahsan Ali also contributed a quick-fire unbeaten knock of 86 off 48 balls, he hit four fours and six sixes. In return, Northern in their second innings were 27 for no loss in 14 overs when stumps were drawn. At Hayatabad Sports Complex in Karachi, Southern Punjab resuming their innings on 127 for three were bowled out for 267 in 82 overs against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Mohammad Umair top-scored with 64, while Agha Salman also chipped in with 54. For Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Mohammad Ilyas grabbed five wickets for 58. In return, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were struggling at 80 for five in 25.1 overs when stumps were drawn. For Southern Punjab, Muhammad Imran took three wickets. In the third match of the day, Balochistan after being put to bat against Central Punjab at Itefaq Cricket Ground in Lahore were dismissed for 276 in 78.2 overs. Haseeb Azam top-scored with a 128-ball 82 laced with 17 fours. Taimur Ali contributed 73 off 157 balls, he hit nine fours and a six. For Central Punjab, Mohammad Ali took five wickets for 61. Ahmed Bashir and Raza Ali Dar grabbed two wickets apiece. Scores in brief: Northern v Sindh, State Bank Stadium, Karachi  Northern 368-7, 83 overs (Sarmad Bhatti 171 not out, Shoaib Ahmed 83, Shehzad Azam 43; Jahid Ali 2-25) and 27-0, 14 overs Sindh 436-4, 83 overs (Jahid Ali 123, Shehzar Mohammad 99, Ahsan Ali 86 not out, Ammad Alam 64, Rameez Raja jr 51; Raza ul Hasan 2-129) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Southern Punjab, Hayatabad Sports Camp, Peshawar Southern Punjab 267 all-out, 82 overs (Mohammad Umair 64, Agha Salman 54, Zeeshan Ashraf 50, Mohammad Imran 46; Mohammad Ilyas 5-58, Ahmed Jamal 2-55) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 80-5, 25.1 overs (Muhammad Imran 3-22, Zia ul Haq 2-33) Balochistan v Central Punjab, Itefaq Cricket Ground, Lahore Balochistan 276 all-out, 78.2 overs (Haseeb Azam 82, Taimur Ali 73, Akbar-ur-Rehman 47; Mohammad Ali 5-61, Raza Ali 2-30, Ahmed Bashir 2-38

Sixth-round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy begins on Monday   Abdul Jabbar Faisal ISLAMABAD:-With four rounds remaining in the four-day first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, the six teams will fight for every point, when the sixth-round of the tournament commences from Monday at different first class cricket venues, to secure a berth in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final, which will be held at Karachi’s National Stadium from 9 to 13 December. Table-toppers Central Punjab will be aiming to consolidate their position when they host Northern, who are at the bottom of the points table, at Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium. Central Punjab, who will be without the services of Pakistan Test captain Azhar Ali and young fast-bowler Naseem Shah as they head to Australia for Pakistan’s World Test Championship matches, enter the round at the back of a thrilling draw against Sindh, in which they looked certain to come out as winners for the most part of the final day’s play. Northern have struggled to click over the course of the tournament. However, they will take heart from a remarkable double-century by Zeeshan Malik. The 22-year-old struck 216 runs in Northern’s first innings against Southern Punjab at Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot, and registered the fourth best highest individual score this tournament. He followed it up with a second innings score of 59. Northern will be led by Pakistan U19 captain Rohail Nazir as Umar Amin takes a break from the leadership role to concentrate on his batting – a decision that paid dividends with the left-handed batsman scoring 156. This will be the season’s last first-class match at Iqbal Stadium. Quetta’s Bugti Stadium, which saw the return of first-class cricket after 11 years this season, will also be hosting its last fixture of the tournament, which will be live-streamed, when Southern Punjab host Balochistan. Southern Punjab will take the field under the leadership of Sami Aslam as their regular captain Shan Masood will be taking a flight to Australia on the opening day of their sixth-round fixture.  With an added responsibility on his shoulders, Sami will be hoping to stretch his good form with the bat into this fixture after the left-handed opening-batsman scored a century against Northern. Southern Punjab are ranked second at the points table and are the only other side than Central Punjab in the tournament, to date, to have won a match. Balochistan, ranked fourth, will be hoping to fill in the vacuum which will be created by the non-availability of leg-spinner Yasir Shah, who tops the charts for most wicket with 21 scalps. This absence of Yasir is bound to add more responsibility on left-arm orthodox Mohammad Asghar, who, along with the leg-spinner, returned a four-fer in the first innings of a drawn contest against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa earlier this week at Bugti Stadium. Balochistan’s Imran Butt will be on the radar of the fans after cracking a brilliant double-century in the last round. The 23-year-old scored 214 which helped him to the second spot in the list of the batsmen with the most runs this tournament. In the third match of the round, third-ranked Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be hosting fifth-ranked Sindh at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s top four batsmen were amongst the run-getters in the previous round with captain Sahibzada Farhan, Israrullah, and Ashfaq Ahmed, who has the most runs this tournament, scoring half-centuries, and Adil Amin putting up a gutsy century. Sindh will also have to wary of off-spinner Sajid Khan, who took eight wickets, including a five for 36 in the second innings, against Balochistan earlier this week. Sindh must have run down the best possible back up options ahead of the sixth round after Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq and Kashif Bhatti left the side for the national duty. But, that Sindh edged out in securing a draw against Central Punjab at Faisalabad was due to Sarfaraz Ahmed’s fighting second innings half-century, which would have uplifted the Sindh’s captain confidence. That coupled with the presence of Fawad Alam, Saad Ali, Khurram Manzoor and a young and upcoming Omair Bin Yousuf in the batting lineup will make getting Sindh batsmen out a daunting proposition. All three matches will begin at 1000 at their respective venues. Quaid-e-Azam Trophy sixth-round fixtures (4-7 November) Central Punjab v Northern, Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad Southern Punjab v Balochistan, Bugti Stadium, Quetta Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Sindh, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Abbottabad    

Netherlands seal the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 title SB Report DUBAI (November 3, 2019):-The Netherlands sealed the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019 title with a seven-wicket triumph over Papua New Guinea at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Using a mix of pace and wily orthodox slow bowling, Netherlands’ attack of Brandon Glover (three for 24), Roelof van der Merwe (two for 15) and Timm van der Gugten (two for 18) undid PNG’s batsmen, never allowing them to up the run rate aside from a final over blitz from Jason Kila (27 not out). Lega Siaka scored 36 but their effort of 128 for eight from 20 overs never looked enough and so it proved when the Dutch batsmen arrived at the crease. Ben Cooper (41) settled any nerves there may have been with a 33-ball knock of 41, including four fours and two sixes, before Colin Ackermann and Ryan ten Doeschate saw the team home with seven wickets and an over to spare. Netherlands ended on a score of 134 for three from 19 overs as PNG finished second. As a result of the final tournament standings, the first round groupings for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 are now confirmed with PNG, Ireland and Oman in Group A with Sri Lanka. Group B will see the Netherlands, Namibia and Scotland join Bangladesh.

  Junaid Khan fined for breaching PCB Code of Conduct  Staff Reporter ISLAMABAD:-Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) left arm fast bowler Junaid Khan has been fined 40 per cent of his match fee for violating the PCB Code of Conduct during his side’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match against Balochistan, which ended in a draw in Quetta on Thursday. Junaid was found guilty of committing a Level 1 offence under clause 2.6, which relates to using a gesture that is obscene, offensive or insulting during a match. The incident occurred on Wednesday when, Junaid got involved in an argument with umpire Shamim Ansari and used inappropriate language at the end of his over, the eighth of Balochistan’s second innings. Junaid was charged by on-field umpires Ghaffar and Shamim Ansari. The player accepted the sanction proposed by match referee Mohammad Aslam. So, there was no need for a formal hearing. Meanwhile, the Central Punjab team were fined Rs 40,000 for a minimum over-rate offense against Sindh at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad on Thursday. Central Punjab were four overs short of their target and were subsequently fined by match referee Nadeem Arshad.