L AHORE: Mohammad Huraira and Mohammad Farooq struck centuries as Sialkot Blues and Fata strengthened their positions on the third day of the opening round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Gold tournament on Thursday.
At the National Ground in Islamabad, Sialkot Blues resumed their second innings at 13 without loss and declared at 388 for five, with Mohammad Huraira scoring 141 and Mohsin Riaz remaining unbeaten on 100.
In reply, Karachi Blues, chasing a target of 350, were reduced to two for one in two overs at stumps, leaving Sialkot firmly in control.
At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, Faisalabad resumed their first innings at 118 for two but were bowled out for 259 in reply to Peshawar Blues’ 503 for four declared. Atig-ur-Rehman top-scored with 72, while Sajid Khan and Mohammad Adnan claimed three wickets apiece.
Following on, Faisalabad reached 54 for one at stumps, still trailing by 190 runs. Faham-ul-Haq was unbeaten on 29.
At the Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad, Fata resumed their second innings at 22 for one and were dismissed for 283, setting Lahore Whites atargetof412runs.
Mohammad Farooq led the way with 123, while Salman Khan Jnr contributed 53. Mohammad Salman Mirza took three wickets for Lahore Whites.
In pursuit of the daunting target, Lahore Whites slumped to 40 for four at stumps, with Test captain Babar Azam unbeaten on 20. Afaq Afridi claimed two wickets as Fata moved closer to victory.
At the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, Multan resumed their first innings at 249 for seven and were eventually bowled out for 327, with overnight unbeaten batter Imran Rafiq going on to score 140. Right-arm fast bowler Musa Khan claimed four wickets.
Trailing by 112 runs, Islamabad reached 163 for six in their second innings at stumps to take a lead of 51. Raja Hamza Waheed scored 60, while Sarmad Bhatti remained unbeaten on 30. Hasan Hafeez took three wickets for Multan.-Agencies