The second day of the sixth round of President’s Trophy 2023-24 Grade-I saw some brilliant performances as Water and Power Development Authority’s (WAPDA) Muhammad Akhlaq struck a brilliant unbeaten double ton against Ghani Glass, while his teammate Ali Shafique wreaked havoc with a seven-fer.
WAPDA vs Ghani Glass
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) found themselves in the front seat against the Higher Education Commission (HEC) after Faisal Akram registered his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
The game between Pakistan Television (PTV) and Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) will enter an interesting day three due to a fighting effort from both teams on the second day.
President’s Trophy: Umar Amin, Suleman score centuries on opening day of round 6
Scores in brief:
WAPDA 212 all out, 60.1 overs (Ayaz Tasawar 81, Umar Akmal 32; Shoaib Akhtar 5-71, Mohammad Rameez Jnr 3-45) and 366-4 (dec), 70.1 overs (Muhammad Akhlaq 202 not out, Hassan Abid Kiyani 63, Ayaz Tasawar 43; Tayyab Tahir 1-39, Mohammad Rameez Jnr 1-44, Saeed Ali 1-51, Niaz Khan 1-74)
Ghani Glass 60 all out, 25.5 overs (Mohsin Riaz 18, Saad Nasim 10, Mohammad Rameez Jnr 10; Ali Shafique 7-14, Ahmed Khan 2-19, Naqeebullah Masood 1-25) and 7-1, 3 overs (Mohammad Rameez Jnr 4 not out, Niaz Khan 2; Asif Afridi 1-4)
WAPDA vs Ghani Glass
Ghani Glass had a horrid start to their day as they were bundled out for a paltry 60 in 25.5 overs, with a massive 152-run first-innings deficit. Opening batters Sharjeel Khan and Kashif Ali were dismissed after scoring four runs each. Tayyab Tahir bagged a 5-ball duck while Mohsin Riaz (18, 33b, 3x4s), Ghani Glass’ top-scorer, didn’t last long as well. Skipper Saad Nasim returned to the dugout for a mere 17-ball 10 run inning.
WAPDA’s Ali Shafique was in red-hot form as he registered the best bowling figures of the tournament so far, bagging a stunning seven-wicket haul for just 14 runs in 10.5 overs. He was aided by Ahmed Khan and Naqeebullah Masood who returned for two and one wicket respectively.
WAPDA were relentless in their reply with the bat as Muhammad Akhlaq (202 not out, 199b, 18x4s, 10x6s) struck his maiden first-class double hundred, while also registering the first double ton of the tournament, decimating the Ghani Glass bowling attack.. Hassan Abid Kiyani (63, 57b, 6x4s, 4x6s) chipped in with a half-century to extend his team’s lead. Ayaz Tasawar (43, 65b, 5x4s) and Mohammad Basit (35 not out, 53b, 5x4s) also contributed valuable runs to set a target of 519 runs for Ghani Glass.
Niaz Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Rameez Jnr and Saeed Ali picked up one wicket each.
Ghani Glass scored seven runs and lost one wicket in the three overs they faced before the stumps were drawn. Kashif Ali and Rameez Jnr (4 not out, 3b, 1x4) will be on the crease at the start of day three for Ghani Glass.
Score in brief:
HEC 95 all out, 38.4 overs (Mohammad Junaid 27, Mohammad Huraira 21; Salman Ali Agha 5-39, Zahid Mehmood 3-5) and 224-7, 65 overs (Saad Khan 88, Mohammad Huraira 58; Afaq Afridi 2-43, Zahid Mehmood 2-56, Salman Ali Agha 2-58, Rameez Aziz 1-17)
SBP 307-5, 80 overs (Umar Amin 158, Rameez Aziz 75, Muhammad Irfan Khan 35 not out; Mohammad Junaid 3-127, Syed Tayyab Hussain 2-58)
SBP vs HEC
SBP managed a whopping 212-run lead to dominate HEC on day two of the game. Earlier on Day One, HEC were bundled out for a measly 95. SBP continued from their overnight score of 188-3 and ended up scoring 307-5 in their allotted 80 overs.
Umar Amin (158, 224b, 22x4s) notched the 30th hundred of his first-class career while Rameez Aziz (75, 131b, 9x4s) chipped in with a valuable half-century. The pair put on a 170-run fourth-wicket partnership.
Muhammad Irfan Khan (35 not out, 31b, 2x4s, 1x6) and Ali Shan (13 not out, 16b, 1x4) helped their team take the lead over the 200-run mark. Mohammad Junaid picked up three wickets while Syed Tayyab Hussain dismissed two batters.
HEC started their innings cautiously but lost their opening batter Haider Abbas (12, 45b, 3x4s), with the scorecard reading 38-1. Mohammad Huraira (58, 66b, 9x4s) and skipper Saad Khan (88, 163b, 12x4s, 1x6) put on a 64-run second wickets partnership before Huraira was removed by Afaq Afridi. Salman Ali Agha struck to remove Muhammad Awais Zafar (20, 37b, 2x4s) and Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (20, 42b, 3x4s).
By the end of the day, HEC had gained a lead of 12 runs with seven wickets in the bag. Zahid Mehmood, Salman and Afaq bagged two wickets each while Rameez Aziz struck once. Mohammad Junaid (4 not out, 6b, 1x4) and Abdul Rehman will be on the crease for HEC at the start of day three.
KRL vs PTV
PTV led by 162 runs as they finished Day Two with the scorecard reading 73-1 in their second innings. Earlier in the day, in reply to PTV’s 360-8, KRL scored 271 in 71.1 overs, conceding an 89-run deficit.
Their opening batters, Imran Dogar (17, 43b, 2x4s) and Abdul Faseeh (53, 53b, 9x4s), put on an opening partnership of 66 runs before Mohammad Ibtisam drew first blood. Ali Zaryab (28, 61b, 3x4s, 1x6) got a start but was removed by Faisal Akram.
Imran Rafiq (79, 138b, 14x4s) struck a gutsy half-century while holding the fort on one end. Sharoon Siraj (10, 15b, 2x4s) and Rohail Nazir were dismissed by Faisal as he continued to spin a web. Kashif Ali (21, 47b, 2x4s, 1x6) too put up some resistance but was undone by Faisal as well.
Shayan Sheikh (46 not out, 39b, 7x4s, 2x6s), batting at number 10, scored brisk runs before running out of partners. Ahmed Bashir (5, 16b, 1x4) was the last man to depart as 20-year-old Faisal registered his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
PTV began their second innings with an early blow in the form of Hasan Nawaz (1, 9b) as Ahmed removed him. Waqar Hussain (51 not out, 51b, 10x4s) registered an unbeaten run-a-ball half-century. He’ll be joined at the crease by Mohammad Suleman (16 not out, 25b, 2x4s) at the start of day three.
Score in brief:
PTV 360-8, 80 overs (Mohammad Suleman 101, Waqar Hussain 75, Jahandad Khan 67, Muhammad Shahzad 48; Ahmed Bashir 3-103, Shayan Sheikh 2-57, Kashif Ali 2-84) and 73-1, 14 overs (Waqar Hussain 51 not out, Mohammad Suleman 16 not out; Ahmed Bashir 1-9)
KRL 271 all out, 71.1 overs (Imran Rafiq 79, Abdul Faseeh 53, Shayan Sheikh 46 not out; Faisal Akram 5-95, Mohammad Ibtisam 4-68, Jahandad Khan 1-41)
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