LAHORE: Bahawalpur defeated Faisalabad by four wickets but still failed to avoid relegation, while the loss also ended Faisalabad’s hopes of qualifying for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final, which will now be contested between defending champions Sialkot and former champions Karachi at the Gaddafi Stadium from 29 November to 3 December.

After the completion of league matches in the 10-team event, Bahawalpur finished ninth on 95 points and joined Abbottabad (68 points) as the two relegated sides from next year’s pinnacle first-class tournament.

Faisalabad, which needed 24 points to move ahead of Lahore and seal a place in the final, collected just nine points to finish third on 141 points. On Tuesday, Karachi had defeated Sialkot by three wickets, moving from 138 to 161 points to end the league stage at the top of the table. Sialkot, who entered the last round with 149 points, slipped to second on 155 points.

Last year’s finalists, Peshawar, finished fourth on 132 points, followed by Lahore (121), FATA (107), Islamabad (107) and Multan (102).

SHEHARYAR-SAIFULLAH LEAD BAHAWALPUR’S SUCCESSFUL RUN-CHASE

Bahawalpur, chasing a 310-run target and resuming their second innings at 124 for two, achieved victory shortly before tea after reaching lunch at 199 for five.

The star for Bahawalpur was Mohammad Sheharyar, who scored 92 before being run out. His 141-ball knock included 10 fours and two sixes.

After Bahawalpur had slipped to 142 for five, Sheharyar added 157 runs for the sixth wicket with Saifullah Bangash, who returned unbeaten on 76 from 136 balls with nine fours and a six.

When Sheharyar was run-out, only 12 runs were required for an impressive victory in an otherwise disappointing campaign in which Bahawalpur managed only two wins.

MUSA TAKES FOUR WICKETS IN FOUR BALLS FOR ISLAMABAD

Fast bowler Musa Khan took four wickets in four balls on his way to securing his third career 10-wicket haul in a match as Islamabad defeated last year’s finalists, Peshawar, by an innings and 77 runs at the Diamond Cricket Ground. The result eliminated Peshawar from the race for the final and lifted Islamabad to seventh place ahead of Multan.

After being forced to follow on and needing 332 to make Islamabad bat again, Peshawar resumed their second innings at 183 for two and were bowled out for 255, with Musa returning figures of 11-0-70-5. He finished the match with 10 for 149.

In his eighth over, Musa completed a hat-trick when he dismissed Waqar Ahmed (bowled), Zubair Khan (lbw) and Abbas Ali (lbw). He then achieved the rare feat of four wickets in four balls by sending Mohammad Haris’s middle stump cartwheeling, as Peshawar collapsed from 220 for two to 220 for six.

Musa is now the fourth Pakistan bowler — after Fazl-e-Akbar, Tabish Khan and Khalid Usman — and the 45th overall to take four wickets in four balls in a first-class match.

For Peshawar, Waqar Ahmed scored 83 after resuming at 63, while Israrullah contributed 41.

Scores in Brief (Ninth round, day 4 of 4)

Islamabad beat Peshawar by an innings and 77 runs, Diamond Cricket Ground.

ISLAMABAD 563 all-out, 148.2 overs (Rohail Nazir 207, Arsal Sheikh 91, Shamyl Hussain 76, Naseerullah Khan 73; Sajid Khan 3-112, Mohammad Irfan 3-125, Razaullah 2-72)

Peshawar 231 all-out, 57.4 overs (Sajid Khan 64, Razaullah 57 not out, Abbas Ali 41; Musa Khan 5-79, Naqeebullah 3-58, Shayan Sheikh 2-52) and 255 all-out (Razaullah 100, Waqar Ahmed 83, Israrullah 41; Musa Khan 5-70, Naqeebullah 4-39)

Bahawalpur beat Faisalabad by four wickets, Marghzar Cricket Ground.

 

FAISALABAD 312 all-out, 85.2 overs (Mohammad Awais Zafar 148, Hasan Raza 53, Raees Ahmed 53; Mohammad Imran Randhawa 4-57, Mohammad Sudais 2-29, Mohammad Azab 2-61) and 185 all-out (Hasan Raza 48, Raees Ahmed 28, Atiq-ur-Rehman 26, Ali Shan 23, Ali Asfand 20; Mohammad Junaid 7-58)

Bahawalpur 188 all-out, 82.3 overs (Mohammad Ammar 66, Mohammad Imran Randhawa 27, Saifullah Bangash 26, Mohammad Alamgir 26, Mohammad Sudais 21; Ahmed Safi Abdullah 5-36, Hasan Raza 3-53, Khurram Shahzad 2-33) and 311-6 (Mohammad Sheharyar 92, Saifullah Bangash 76 not out, Mohammad Alamgir 69, Mohammad Sudais 53)

On Tuesday:

Karachi beat Sialkot by three wickets, Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium.

SIALKOT 176 all out, 46.2 overs (Mehran Mumtaz 70, Mohammad Waleed 23, Azan Awais 23; Mohammad Umar 5-40, Kashif Bhatti 4-67) and 260 all-out (Hamza Nazar 66, Afzaal Manzoor 48 not out, Abdullah Shafique 37, Abdul Rehman 36, Mohammad Huraira 21; Kashif Bhatti 5-72, Mohamad Asghar 3-95)

KARACHI 225 all-out, 57.5 overs (Shan Masood 70, Saud Shakeel 29, Saad Baig 29, Abdullah Fazal 21; Hamza Nazar 5-49, Mohammad Waleed 2-45, Mehran Mumtaz 2-48) and 212-7 (Shan Masood 86, Saad Baig 68, Haroon Arshad 30; Mehran Mumtaz 4-40)

Multan beat Abbottabad by an innings and 201 runs, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium.

MULTAN 542-8d, 119 overs (Imam-ul-Haq 181, Zeeshan Ashraf 94, Sharoon Siraj 83, Aamir Yamin 75, Imran Butt 40; Mansoor Ali 4-133, Adil Naz 2-94, Khalid Usman 2-166)

Abbottabad 159 all-out, 40.1 overs (Mohammad Arif 61, Shahab Khan 31; Ali Usman 6-65, Faisal Akram 3-37) and 182 all-out (Shahzaib Khan 61, Ahmed Khan 51, Khalid Usman 24; Ali Usman 4-92, Sharoon Siraj 2-19, Faisal Akram 2-38)

Lahore beat FATA by 33 runs, Imran Khan Cricket Stadium.

LAHORE 205 all out, 53.4 overs (Qasim Akram 54, Aamir Jamal 32, Hussain Talat 30, Mohib Bhatti 28, Ali Zaryab 26; Hayatullah 7-78) and 208 all-out, (Ali Zaryab 54, Khawaja Mohammad Abdullah 49, Imran Dogar 44, Mohib Bhatti 24; Asif Afridi 5-67, Khushdil Shah 2-32, Hayatullah 2-68)

FATA 239 all-out, 63.5 overs (Salman Khan Junior 104, Mohammad Sarwar Afridi 46, Mohammad Farooq 28; Noman Ali 5-52, Aamir Jamal 2-38) and 141 all-out (Rehan Afridi 45, Hayatullah 24, Adnan Khan 21; Mohammad Abbas 5-31, Mohammad Rameez Junior 3-20)