Sindh clinch Quaid Trophy thriller against Central Punjab

Sindh defeated Central Punjab by 11 runs in the ninth round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2021-22 thriller at the State Bank Stadium on Wednesday.

Sohail Khan took four for 63 and mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed picked up three for 112 as Central Punjab were dismissed for 295 after resuming this morning at 55 for five and chasing 307 for victory.

Ali Shan and Rizwan Hussain fought hard for Central Punjab, scoring 100 and 85, respectively and received good support from Faheem Ashraf (34) and Ahmed Safi Abdullah (29), but the target proved to be too stiff.

Ali, batting at No.8, struck 11 fours and two sixes in a 165-ball innings, while Rizwan, who was 21 overnight, struck 13 fours and two sixes in a 120-ball innings. Rizwan featured in two good partnerships, adding 77 runs for the sixth wicket with Faheem and 60 runs for the seventh wicket with Ali.

After the conclusion of the penultimate round matches, Northern lead the table with 127 points, followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (124), Sindh (121) and Central Punjab (103). Southern Punjab (93) and Balochistan (77) are out of the race for the five-day pink-ball final, which will be played at the National Stadium from 25-29 December.

In the final round match-ups to be played from 18-21 December, Central Punjab have a tough game against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while Northern and Sindh will go head to head with Balochistan and Southern Punjab, respectively.

Scores in brief (day 4 of 4):

Sindh beat Central Punjab by 11 runs at the State Bank of Pakistan Stadium, Karachi

Sindh 155-9d, 52 overs (Sohail Khan 65, Fawad Alam 32; Muhammad Ali 3-20, Muhammad Saad 3-24) and 338 all out, 105.3 overs (Asad Shafiq 97, Sohail Khan 73, Mohammad Hassan 49, Omair Bin Yousuf 32, Khurram Manzoor 23, Tabish Khan 23; Ahmed Safi Abdullah 4-58, Mohammad Saad 2-47)

Central Punjab 187-9d, 58.5 overs (Abid Ali 98, Muhammad Saad 49; Abrar Ahmed 3-37, Tabish Khan 3-46, Sohail Khan 2-50) and 295, 79.5 overs (Ali Shan 100, Rizwan Hussain 85, Faheem Ashraf 34, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 29; Sohail Khan 4-64, Abrar Ahmed 3-112)