Ton-up Khurram puts Karachi Blues on top

KARACHI: Inspired by opener Khurram Manzoor’s century, Karachi Blues put themselves in control of their last-round Quaid-i-Azam Trophy Grade-II Cricket Tournament match against Bahawalpur on Tuesday.

Replying to Bahawalpur’s first-innings tally of 264 in the Group ‘A’ fixture at the Dring Stadium, Karachi Blues reached 367-8 in the stipulated 83 overs after having resumed at Monday’s score of 54-0.

Khurram led the run spree by making 117 from 158 balls with 16 boundaries. Mohtashim Ali scored 62 off 101 balls with five fours in the opening partnership of 127 with Khurram.

Skipper Asad Shafiq (71 off 83 balls, five boundaries) then joined Akbar-ur-Rehman (67 off 72, six fours and one six) further pulverised the Bahawalpur as Karachi Blues secured a healthy lead of 103 runs.

The hosts then found themselves in trouble when they reached stumps at 55-3.

Multan were also poised for victory in the other Group ‘A’ game against Larkana at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Larkana ended the day on 22-0 after being set a tough target of 337 on the penultimate day of the three-day tie.

Earlier, Multan earned a commanding first-innings lead of 140 by bowling Larkana for 193.

Batting again, Multan declared then declared at 196-3 thanks to a blazing undefeated 97 (off 81 balls, five fours and four sixes) from Abdul Rehman Muzammil, who shared a third-wicket stand of 98 with Sohaib Maqsood (46 off 50 balls, five fours and one six).

Azad Jammu Kashmir made 83-4 in the rain-affected Group ‘B’ encounter with Sialkot at the National Ground in Islamabad. Earlier, Sialkot were dismissed for 321 after starting at 54-3.

Ali Khan hammered 14 boundaries and one six in a quickfire 72-ball innings of 82 while putting 131 for fifth wicket with Atiq-ur-Rehman (81 off 144 balls, 11 fours).

Slow left-armer Imran Khalid led from the front with a haul of 7-98 in 30 overs as Faisalabad restricted Abbottabad to 268 while securing a crucial lead of 56 runs on the first innings of the other Group ’B’ game at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.

Abbottabad added 237 runs to their overnight position of 31-1 after slumping to 50-4. The recovery was engineered by Khalilullah, who struck 15 boundaries in a defiant 116 off 158 balls, and Fawad Malook (61 off 158 balls, six boundaries).

The remaining the three wickets during Abbottabad’s innings were claimed by discarded international paceman Asad Ali (3-47 in 16 overs).

Faisalabad extended their overall lead to 98 as they posted 42-2 in their second innings.

Close of play scores on Tuesday (day two of three):

Group ‘A’

At Dring Stadium, Bahawalpur: BAHAWALPUR 264 in 70.4 overs (Mohammad Wasim 68, Adeel Basit 49, Zeeshan-ul-Haq 43, Moinuddin 40, Imranullah Aslam 40; Mohammad Asghar 4-101, Mirza Ahsan Jamil 2-29, Mir Hamza 2-47) and 55-3 in 16 overs (Mohammad Wasim 27); KARACHI BLUES 367-8 in 83 overs (Khurram Manzoor 117, Asad Shafiq 71, Akbar-ur-Rehman 67, Mohtashim Ali 52l Imranullah Aslam 5-132, Mohammad Yamin 2-128).

At Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan: MULTAN 333-5 declared in 75 overs (Imran Rafiq 128, Sohaib Maqsood 102, Kashif Naved 52 not out; Imran Khan 2-41) and 196-3 declared in 32 overs (Abdul Rehman Muzammil 97 not out, Sohaib Maqsood 46, Zain Abbas 37); LARKANA 193in 62 overs (Habibullah 41, Ghulam Farooq 28, Zafar Ali 27; Ali Usman 3-35, Zulfiqar Babar 2-20) and 22-0 in 7 overs.

Group ‘B’

At Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad: FAISALABAD 324-9 in 83 overs (Ali Rafiq 118, Imran Khalid 83, Usman Arshad 47, Fahim Ashraf 26 not out; Adnan Raees 3-23, Fazle Rabbi 2-46) and 42-2 in 19 overs; ABBOTTABAD 268 in 80 overs (Khalilullah 116, Fawad Malook 61; Imran Khalid 7-98, Asad Ali 3-47).

At National Ground, Islamabad: SIALKOT 321 in 78 overs (Ali Khan 82, Atiq-ur-Rehman 81, Mohammad Asif 40, Bilal Asif 33, Naeemuddin 26; Usman Maroof 3-49, Shadab Majeed 3-55, Faisal Khaliq 2-58); AZAD JAMMU KASHMIR 83-4 in 30 overs (Mohammad Kamran 2-19).