FAISALABAD: Northern’s stand-in captain and left-arm spinner Nauman Ali decimated Southern Punjab’s (SP) batting line-up before enforcing the first follow-on of the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QEAT) 2022-23.
In the first round fixture of the ongoing QEAT, SP found themselves in immense trouble as Northern after accumulating a mammoth 529, bundled out the side for a paltry 269.
SP’s opening batter Zain Abbas put up a fight with his magnificent 120, while the rest of the batters failed to make an impact as Nauman-led Northern bowling attack extended their domination.
Nauman led the way by claiming four wickets, while Musa Khan and Mehran Mumtaz bagged two each.
Northern captain Nauman then further added to the misery of SP by enforcing the first follow-on of the ongoing edition of QEAT as they trailed by 117 runs.
Coming out to bat again after the follow-on SP managed to conclude the third day at 143/2, while Usman Salahuddin (40) and Imran Rafiq (34) will resume the proceedings on the final day.
Mubasir Khan, who bolstered Northern to a massive total in the first inning by smashing 170, removed both SP openers – Umar Siddiq (35) and Zain (32).
At the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Fawad Alam stole the show with his 42nd first-class century, returning unbeaten on 127 and powered Sindh to put up a fighting total of 368 in reply to Central Punjab’s (CP) 428.
Wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed supported Fawad brilliantly amid their 169-run sixth-wicket stand as he smashed an important 78 runs off 196 deliveries, laced with eight boundaries.
CP then stretched their lead to 230 as they amassed 170/4 at stumps with their last inning double-centurion Abdullah Shafique (72*) at the crease, who had the company of Tayyab Tahir – unbeaten on 61.
In another first-round fixture, Balochistan gathered a dominating 289-run lead after bowling out Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) for 291 despite a brilliant century from Kamran Ghulam, who smashed 102 off 171 balls.
KP captain Khalid Usman also put up a fight for his side with a gritty knock of 43.
Khurram Shahzad led the bowling attack for Balochistan as he claimed four wickets for 67, while Akif Javed and Kashif Bhatti bagged two each.
Balochistan then recovered from 68/4 to 107/4 to extend their dominance over KP as Hussain Talat (27) and Ali Waqas (12) held their ground firm.
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