KARACHI: Left-arm fast bowler Shehzad Gul took five wickets as Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) bounced back against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) on the second day of the sixth round President Cup Grade-1 match at the KCCA Stadium on Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, KRL resumed their first innings at 61/2 all out for SNGPL’s 199, but could only add 114 more to their overnight score and were bowled out for 175 in 61.4 overs.
Opener Shahzaib Khan cautiously led the way with 36 off 110 balls, followed by number 10 batsmen Sufyan Mukeem and Sarmat Bhatti with 33 and 30 respectively.
Sheshad bowled well for the SNGPL team with 5 for 38 in 16.4 overs, Sajid Khan took 2 wickets and Mohammad Irfan and Mohammad Ali each.
With a slim 24-run advantage in their favour, SNGPL’s batting unit put in a good performance in the second innings as they scored 125/2 at the end of the second day, extending their lead to 149 runs with 8 wickets in hand.
Experienced opener Abid Ali top-scored with an unbeaten 46 off 138 balls and would resume their second innings on the final day with an unbeaten 14 off 30 balls alongside Mubasir Khan.
For the KRL side, Mohammad Hamza and Mukeem could take one wicket each on the second day.
Qasim Akram’s three wickets after Muhammad Hurairah’s century strengthened State Bank of Pakistan’s (SBP) command in their sixth round President’s Cup Grade-I match against Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) at the National Bank Stadium.
SBP resumed their first innings from 246/1 in reply to KRL 76 all out with Abdullah Fazal scoring overnight centuries and Huraira.
The sixth-placed side could add 142 to their overnight score due to a slump, losing seven wickets for 66 runs.
Abdullah was the top scorer with 182 off 231 balls with 26 fours and 3 sixes, while Huraria scored 110 off 180 balls with a dozen fours.
Middle-order batsman Ali Shan, who scored 33 off 74 balls, was the next best run-scorer after two centuries.
Among the OGTCL bowlers, Mohammad Amir Khan took five wickets. His efforts were supported by Mushtaq Ahmed, who made four scalps, while Adil Amin made one.
Trailing by 312 runs, OGDCL’s batting unit struggled in the second innings as well and they ended the day at 125/5.
Wicketkeeper batsman Umar Siddiqui top-scored with a cautious 42 off 82 balls, while the top-order pair of Haroon Arshad and Ali Imran contributed with 35 and 27 respectively.
All-rounders Danish Aziz and Jawad Ali, unbeaten on six and zero respectively, will resume the second innings of the OGDCL on the final day, who are still 187 runs behind SBP, with five wickets in hand.
For the SBP side, Qasim Akram led the bowling with three wickets in the 2nd innings while Kaship Bhatti and Sirajuddin grabbed one wicket each.
At the SBP Sports Complex, the sixth-round President’s Cup Grade-I between Sahir Associates and Ghani Glass was tied after a pulsating second day.
Sahir Associates resumed the day’s play at 75/2 for Ghani Glass’ 155 all out, but managed to add another 92 runs to their overnight score to curl up for 167 in 64 overs, taking a 12-run first innings lead.
Sahir Associates scored an unbeaten 74 off 79 balls with 11 fours and 2 sixes to bat at 75/5.
Ali Shabir Ghani led the bowling charge for the class with four wickets, while Test bowlers Mir Hamza and Noman Ali claimed three and two scalps respectively.
Trailing by 12 runs, Gani Glass piled up 166/6 in the second innings before the stumps drew.
Hammad Butt was their top scorer with a 122-ball 77 with 11 fours and a six, while middle-order batsman Ali Razak scored 33 off 96 balls. The two shared a 95-run partnership for the fourth wicket.
Mohammad Rameez Jr and wicketkeeper-batsman Shahbaz Javed remained unbeaten on three and one run respectively to guide Sahir Associates to 154 runs, resuming Ghani Glass’s second innings on the final day.
Khan Saif led the bowling charge for Sahir Associates in the second innings and claimed three wickets.
The remaining sixth round match between defending champions Pakistan Television (PTV) and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) hung in the balance after the second day at the UBL Sports Complex.
At the end of play on day two, the holders were 123/6, with all-rounders Jahandad Khan and Amat Bhatt unbeaten on 10 and 1 respectively leading by 152 runs.
Earlier, WAPDA, who started the first innings at 29/0 for PTV’s 269, were bowled out for 240 in 65.2 overs thanks to opener Muhammad Akhlaq’s half-century and a blistering performance from captain Khalid Usman.
Akhlaq remained the top scorer with 73 off 140 balls with 9 fours and 2 sixes, followed by Usman’s 43 off 54 balls with 3 sixes and several fours.
Ali Usman led the bowling charge for BTV with six wickets while Budd chipped in with three strikes.
With a 29-run advantage in their favour, PTV ended the day at 123/6 in the second innings.
All-rounder Arafat Minhas top-scored with 28 off 24 balls, while opener Waqar Hussain scored 22 off 22 balls.
On the WAPDA side, captain Usman took two wickets while Naqeebullah, Mohammad Naveed, Mujtaba Khan and Sharoon took one each.