Khan Research Laboratories batter Shahzaib Khan registered his fourth first-class century as the opening round of the President’s Trophy Grade-I ended with all matches finishing as draws in Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Abbottabad on Tuesday.
While, Imran Khan Stadium in Peshawar and Abbottabad Cricket Stadium saw action on fourth day, no play was possible at Diamond Cricket Ground Islamabad and Shoaib Akhtar Stadium, Rawalpindi due to rain.
Following the first round, Pakistan Television are on top of the points table with 14 points. KRL and Kingsmen Academy are tied on 13 each, while State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) accrued 12 points each.
Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) managed eight points from the first round, while MIT Solutions and Ghani sit at the bottom with seven points each. The second round will start from Friday, 18 September.
In Peshawar, KRL set a 456-run target for Ghani after declaring their second innings at 215-2 in 29 overs with Shahzaib scoring 103 not out off 102 balls with the help of 10 fours and one six.
KRL had resumed from overnight score of 164-1 in 24 overs as Fakhar Zaman could only add one run to his overnight score of 76. The two had shared a stand of 152 runs as KRL set a target of 456 runs for Ghani.
In reply, with bad light intervening at one stage, Ghani scored 207 for the loss of four wickets in 60 overs before the teams shook hands for a draw. Mohammad Faiq picked up two wickets including removing the well-set debutant Mirza Tahir Baig for 79 off 166 balls.
Sharjeel Khan (44, 48b, 4x4s, 2x6s) and Khawaja Arham (37, 46b, 5x4s, 1×6) scored fluently before falling, while Mohsin Riaz held one end solidly scoring 37 not out off 88 balls.
At the Abbottabad Stadium, MIT Solutions set a target of 150 for Kingsmen Academy after getting bowled out 384 in 86.2 overs following-on. In turn, Kingsmen Academy lost three wickets in the available nine overs scoring 45 runs. Mohammad Ismail picked up all three scalps in his five overs conceding 22 runs.
Earlier, MIT had evaded defeat by batting for 45.2 overs on the final day following a delayed start. They resumed from overnight score of 203-5 and still 32 runs in deficit and with the help of half-centuries from no.6 Bismillah Khan (53, 80b, 6x4s, 2x6s) and Samama Riaz (67 not out, 70b, 6x4s, 5x6s), managed a match-saving second innings lead despite following-on.
Scores in brief – End of 1st round – Day 4
Match 1 – Khan Research Laboratories v Ghani at Imran Khan Cricket Stadium, Peshawar
Match Drawn
Target for Ghani – 456
KRL 547-9, 122.4 overs (Imran Rafiq 129, Fakhar Zaman 128, Asim Ali Nasir 87, Shaheen Shah Afridi 47, Mohammad Junaid 43, Shahzaib Khan 36, Abdul Faseeh 26, Iftikhar Ahmed 23; Ghulam Haider 4-119, Mohammad Wasim Jnr 3-129) and 215-2 dec, 29 overs (Shahzaib Khan 103 not out, Fakhar Zaman 77, Mohammad Faiq 21 not out)
Ghani 306 all out, 81.5 overs (Haseebullah 99, Sharjeel Khan 59, Ali Razzaq 52, Mirza Tahir Baig 34; Shaheen Shah Afridi 4-61, Iftikhar Ahmed 2-62, Arshad Iqbal 2-75) and Ghani 207-4, 60 overs (Mirza Tahir Baig 79, Sharjeel Khan 44, Mohsin Riaz 37 not out, Khawaja Arham 37; Mohammad Faiq 2-21)
Match 2 – Markhor IT Solutions v Kingsmen Academy at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium
Match Drawn
Target for Kingsmen Academy – 150
Kingsmen Academy 565-7, 131.1 overs (Salman Ali Agha 300 not out, Mohammad Suleman 115, Mohammad Shayan 34, Azan Tariq 31, Mohammad Huraira 30, Mohammad Arshad 27; Salman Aslam 2-70) and 45-3, 9 overs (Mohammad Tayyab Arif 15 not out; Mohammad Ismail 3-22)
MIT Solutions 330 all out, 76.5 overs (Mohammad Farooq 117, Bismillah Khan 39, Atiq-ur-Rehman 36, Muhammad Riazullah 30, Samama Riaz 23, Salman Aslam 22; Akif Javed 6-79, Mehran Mumtaz 2-50, Muhammad Umar 2-52) and (f/0) 384 all out, 86.2 overs (Samama Riaz 67 not out, Mohammad Farooq 67, Bismillah Khan 53, Salman Khan Jnr 42, Atiq-ur-Rehman 38, Zahid Mansoor 24, Hasnain Nadeem 24, Muhammad Riazullah 20; Mehran Mumtaz 3-100, Muhammad Umar 2-51, Azan Tariq 2-60)
Match 3 – Pakistan Television v Oil and Gas Development Company Limited at Diamond Cricket Ground, Islamabad
Match Drawn – No play on day four
PTV 400 all out, 106.1 overs (Mohammad Taha 134, Sharoon Siraj 92, Waqar Hussain 42, Amad Butt 37, Muhammad Shahzad 21; Danish Aziz 3-60, Mohammad Amir Khan 2-68)
OGDCL 204 all out, 64 overs (Mohammad Hammad Khan 43, Mohammad Irfan 35, Rohail Nazir 28, Saad Khan 27, Danish Aziz 27; Haris Rauf 5-34, Faisal Akram 4-51) and (f/o) 64-3, 19 overs (Saad Khan 42, Ali Zaryab 20 not out; Israr Hussain 2-15)
Match 4 – State Bank of Pakistan v Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited at Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
Match Drawn – No play on day four
SBP 158 all out, 62.2 overs (Mubasir Khan 62 not out; Ahmad Safi Abdullah 3-44, Khan Zeb 3-48, Shehzad Gul 2-28) and 190-1, 58 overs (Hasan Raza 103, Faham-ul-Haq 78 not out)
SNGPL 188 all out, 68.1 overs (Omair Bin Yousuf 49, Abdul Samad 33, Muhammad Awais Zafar 26, Sameer Minhas 24; Kashif Bhatti 6-40, Sirajuddin 2-62)
