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LAHORE: Saqib Khan’s four-fer and Abdullah Fazal’s sublime century put Karachi Blues in a commanding position against the defending champions Sialkot on day three of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final here at the iconic Gaddafi Stadium.
Karachi ended the day’s play at 202 for 1 in 64 overs in their second innings and are leading by 276 runs.
After losing Saad Baig for 31, Abdullah Fazal and Haroon Arhsad forged a 149-run stand for the second wicket, bringing the score from 53 to over 200-run runs.
The duo kept the experienced pace trio- Mohammad Hasnain, Hasan Ali, and Mohammad Ali, at bay with a calm and commanding batting display.
Fazal, who scored his second first-class century, remained unbeaten with 104* off 200 balls, laced with 11 fours, whereas Haroon hit four boundaries in his 55 from 145 deliveries.
For Sialkot, Mohammad Hasnain remained the solitary wicket-taker.
Earlier, Karachi Blues fast bowlers skittled Sialkot’s lower order in the first 11 overs of the opening session, to take a big 74-run lead.
The pair of Hasan Ali and Hamza Nazar only added 10 runs to their overnight score of 235, with Mohammad Umar scalping the prized wicket of the latter, who departed after scoring 64 from 126 balls.
Soon after, Saqib dismissed Hasan for 41 to put his side in a commanding position. Eventually, Sialkot were bundled out for 266 in their first innings, handing Karachi a big lead in the all-important final.
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