Leaders Sialkot gain big runs advantage over Multan

Leaders Sialkot gain big runs advantage over Multan

Group B points table leaders Sialkot gained an overall advantage of 339 runs with four wickets still intact, as the third day of their sixth-round, four-day match of the 2008-09 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Cricket Championship, sponsored by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), against Multan came to a close at Gymkhana Ground Okara on Wednesday.Multan made 241 runs to concede a first innings lead of 98 after Sialkot had scored 339 runs. In their second knock yesterday, Sialkot were 241 for the loss of six wickets.Multan were given a boost by their left-handed player Rizwan Haider at number nine, who scored an unbeaten 55 off 113 balls with seven fours. But the lead evaded his team by a large margin.There were three identical scores of 46 by opener Naeemuddin, Haaris Sohail and skipper Ayub Dogar (not out) as Sialkot went in a second time.Second-placed Rawalpindi took a 37 runs lead over Lahore Ravi at the Lahore City Cricket Association (LCCA) Ground in Lahore yesterday. The Lahore team managed to make 267 runs in reply to Rawalpindi's 304.The Lahore Ravi fourth-wicket partnership was worth 99 runs. This included 53 off 181 balls with three fours by Manzoor Elahi's son Babar Manzoor. Ashraf Ali missed his first-class career's seventh hundred by just three runs, his 97 coming off 259 balls in just over six hours with eight boundaries.Rawalpindi's slow left-armer Yasim Murtaza captured five wickets for 52 runs in 36.5 overs. His team were three for no wicket in their second innings.Islamabad gained a narrow seven runs advantage over Faisalabad after making 158 runs in reply to the host team's 151, at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad. Left-arm spinner Saadat Munir picked up six wickets for 39 runs in 20.5 overs.Faisalabad, however, wrested the initiative back somehwat with a second innings score of 160 for three. Opener Imran Ali made 42 after which Zeeshan Asif, with an unbeaten 41, and Usman Arshad added 76 runs for the unbroken fourth-wicket partnership.Usman has posted an exact 50 not out, off 81 balls in just short of an hour and a half with seven hits to the rope.Abbottabad responded positively to Hyderabad's big first innings total of 471 for nine declared as, on the third day of their match at Niaz Stadium Hyderabad, they had reached the day's close with a score of 272 runs with only three wickets down.Opener Hammad Ali, an 18-year-old playing in his third first-class match, made his maiden century, an exact 100 off 174 balls in just short of three and three-quarter hours with 15 fours.With Mohammad Kashif (53), Hammad's second-wicket stand was worth 142 runs. Skipper Adnan Raees later contributed 69 not out, off 138 balls with eight fours and a six.The Group B match at Arbab Niaz Stadium Peshawar, which was set to start a day late on Tuesday, had its first day completely washed out. Yesterday was an eventful day, as 14 wickets fell.Bottom of the table Quetta crashed to a pathetic 51 all out. In reply, Peshawar took the lead easily by making 136 runs for four wickets.Skipper Nauman Habib and the left-armed Waqar Ahmed bowled unchanged for Peshawar. Waqar had figures of six wickets for 29 runs in 8.2 overs. Nauman took 4-20 in nine overs. Only one Quetta batsman, opener Taimur Ali (17) reached double figures.Scores: Sialkot 339 in 82.4 overs (Naeemuddin 65, Ayaz Tasawwar 100*, Nayyar Abbas 41) and 241-6 in 60 overs (Naeemuddin 46, Haaris Sohail 46, Ayub Dogar 46*). Multan 241 in 82.2 overs (Rameez Alam 67, Rizwan Haider 55*).Rawalpindi 304 in 87.1 overs (Naved Ashraf 105, Fawad Hussain 106) and 3-0 in one over. Lahore Ravi 267 in 129.5 overs (Babar Manzoor 53, Ashraf Ali 97; Yasim Murtaza 5-52).Faisalabad 151 in 45.2 overs (Ijaz Ahmed 61*; Saad Altaf 5-75) and 160-3 in 47 overs (Imran Ali 42, Zeeshan Asif 41*, Usman Arshad 50*). Islamabad 158 in 60.5 overs (Saadat Munir 6-39).Hyderabad 471-9 dec in 152 overs (Azeem Ghumman 147, Faisal Athar 140, Hanif Malik 73; Armaghan Elahi 5-69). Abbottabad 272-3 in 99 overs (Hammad Ali 100, Mohammad Kashif 53, Adnan Raees 69*).Quetta 51 in 17.2 overs (Nauman Habib 4-20, Waqar Ahmed 6-29). Peshawar 136-4 in 44 overs (Israrullah 44).