Spinner Abrar Ahmed continued to grab attention when he bowled Sindh to a thrilling 10-wicket victory over reigning champions Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the fourth and last day of the fourth round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2022-23.
Abrar, the bespectacled 24-year-old Karachi-born spinner, followed up his first innings figures of 39.2-9-130-4 with 19-9-29-5 as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were mesmerized and spun out for a paltry 108 in 46.2 overs at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. Sindh achieved the three-run victory target in the first over to notch up their first victory of the season.
Earlier, Sindh, replying to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s first innings score of 384, were dismissed after adding one run to their overnight score of 489 for nine to earn a 106-run first innings lead.
But as the match appeared to head for a draw, Abrar demonstrated why he is one of the finest and highly-rated spinner in the circuit when he bamboozled the middle-order that slipped from 38 for one to 108 all-out. Abrar accounted for Sahibzada Farhan (12), Kamran Ghulam (0), Nabi Gul (4), Arshadullah (6) and Imran Khan Snr (4).
This was Abrar’s second match of the season. In his opening match against ATF Southern Punjab, Abrar had recorded match figures of 11 for 194. Abrar now has 20 wickets in two matches, with Sindh’s fifth round match against Balochistan at the Pindi Cricket Stadium. Overall, Abrar has claimed 53 wickets in nine first-class matches.
Abrar was well supported by Mohammad Umar, who claimed three wickets for 17 runs to finish the match with seven for 104.
At the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, Central Punjab’s Ahmad Safi Abdullah returned figures of 50-12-132-6 but his side’ match against Northern ended into a high-scoring draw. Northern, replying to Central Punjab’s 509 for nine declared and resuming at 425 for four, were 651 for nine when match ended.
Northern’s Sarmad Bhatti, who had started the day at 102, was dismissed after scoring 140 (345 balls, 15×4), while Mubasir Khan, who was 70 overnight, scored 79 (127 balls, 10×4, 1×6). On Tuesday, Aamir Jamal scored 80 not out (146 balls, 11×4, 1×6) and Nauman Ali contributed 69 (102 balls, 11×4) as the two batters added 120 runs for the eighth wicket.
At the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium, the match between Balochistan and ATF Southern Punjab also ended in a draw.
After securing a 16-run first innings lead and resuming the day at 36 for one, Balochistan were 295 for six when play ended. Haris Sohail was 133 not out, his 14th first-class century, and added 106 runs for the fifth wicket with Husain Talat (31).
Haris, who faced 188 balls and struck 16 fours and four sixes, also put on 47 runs for the fourth wicket with Abdul Wahid Bangalzai (65).
Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (fourth round, day four):
Sindh beat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by 10 wickets at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 384, 115.2 overs (Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 148, Kamran Ghulam 93, Sahibzada Farhan 53, Rehan Afridi 47; Mohammad Umar 4-87, Abrar Ahmed 4-130, Mir Hamza 2-51) and 108 all-out (Ashfaq Ahmed 37, Rehan Afridi 28; Abrar Ahmed 5-29, Mohammad Umar 3-17)
Sindh (overnight 489-9) 490 all-out, 138 overs (Khurram Manzoor 116, Saud Shakeel 105, Omair Bin Yousuf 105, Mohammad Hasan 47 not out, Saim Ayub 42, Asif Mahmood 31; Ihsanullah 3-109, Sajid Khan 3-127) and 4-0
Match points: Sindh 21 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 4
Central Punjab drew with Northern at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
Central Punjab 509-9d, 140 overs (Azhar Ali 219, Tayyab Tahir 114, Ali Shan 55, Abdullah Shafique 32, Mohammad Saad 27; Mehran Mumtaz 3-111, Nauman Ali 3-173, Mubasir Khan 2-76)
Northern (overnight 425-4) 651-9d, 197.1 overs (Sarmad Bhatti 140, Aamir Jamal 80 not out, Mubasir Khan 79, Faizan Riaz 74, Nauman Ali 69, Umar Amin 68, Mohammad Huraira 62; Ahmed Safi Abdullah 6-132)
Match points: Central Punjab 10 Northern 9
ATF Southern Punjab drew with Balochistan at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium
Balochistan 346, 127 overs (Asad Shafiq 106, Ali Waqas 45, Haris Sohail 37, Haseebullah 33, Imran Butt 30, Khurram Shahzad 26 not out; Sameen Gul 5-84, Muhammad Imran Randhawa 3-75) and 295-6 (Haris Sohail 133 not out, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai 65, Husain Talat 31, Imran Butt 24, Mohammad Imran Randhawa 2-43, Sameen Gul 2-46)
ATF Southern Punjab 330, 96.5 overs (Usman Salahuddin 88, Sharoon Siraj 73, Mohammad Imran Randhawa 53, Salman Ali Agha 44; Najeebullah Achakzai 5-90, Kashif Bhatti 2-78, Khurram Shehzad 2-83)
Match points: Balochistan 10 ATF Southern Punjab 9
