LAHORE: Left-arm spinner Kashif Bhatti took six wickets to bowl 20-time champions Karachi to a 193-run victory over Abbottabad on the fourth and final day of the seventh-round Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on Friday.

Abbottabad, resuming this morning at 147 for four after being set a 519-run target, were dismissed for 325. This included a spirited late-order fightback, with the last four wickets adding 174 runs after the hosts had slipped to 151 for six.

No.6 batter Ahmed Khan led the rearguard with a 174-ball 88 (7 fours, 4 sixes), while No.9 batter Shahab Khan contributed a 59-ball 56 (10 fours, 1 six).

Kashif added four more wickets to his overnight tally of two to finish with impressive figures of 39-13-98-6. He had also taken two wickets in the first innings. Fast bowler Saqib Khan, who claimed seven for 34 in the first innings, picked up two for 82 to return match figures of nine for 116.

This was Karachi’s third win of the tournament, lifting them to second position on 110 points, 16 behind leaders Sialkot, who have four wins in seven matches.

ISLAMABAD–FAISALABAD THRILLER ENDS IN A DRAW

A gutsy, positive and courageous batting display by Islamabad’s middle and lower-middle order brought them within 19 runs of victory over Faisalabad – a result that had looked highly unlikely at stumps on Thursday.

When play ended on day three, Islamabad were 159 for one in pursuit of a daunting 448-run target. But at the close of an exciting final day, they finished on 429 for eight, with No.7 Mohammad Arsal Sheikh unbeaten on a 110-ball 62 (9 fours) and No.9 Mohammad Musa Khan not out on six from 24 balls.

After opener Shamyl Hussain was dismissed for a superb 131, adding 30 to his overnight score, Arsal’s half-century was one of three fifties scored on the final day. Hunain Shah struck an attractive 67-ball 66 (7 fours, 1 six), while Rohail Nazir contributed a 110-ball 65 (10 fours). On Thursday, Abdul Faseeh had scored 57.

For Faisalabad, Afaq Ahmed Afridi took three for 96, while Khurram Shahzad claimed two for 106.

The result helped Faisalabad join Peshawar on third position with 109 points, while Islamabad remained seventh on 74. Multan and Bahawalpur occupy the bottom two positions and are in the relegation zone.

Scores in brief (Seventh round, day 4 of 4):

Karachi beat Abbottabad by 193 runs, Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium

KARACHI 258 all-out, 80 overs (Danish Aziz 89 not out, Shan Masood 43, Saud Shakeel 31, Ramiz Aziz 23, Mirza Saud Baig 21; Khalid Usman 3-83, Kamran Ghulam 2-12, Shahab Khan 2-40, Mehroz Rasheed 2-57) and 451-5d (Shan Masood 250 not out, Rameez Aziz 78, Saud Shakeel 33, Usman Khan 27, Danish Aziz 24; Mehraz Rasheed 2-144)

ABBOTTABAD 191 all-out, 59.1 overs (Khayyam Khan 59, Shahzaib Khan 37, Mohammad Suleman 26; Saqib Khan 7-34) and 325 (Ahmed Khan 88, Shahab Khan 56, Kamran Ghulam 48, Zain Ishaq 37, Umair Badshah 34, Khalid Usman 27; Kashif Bhatti 6-98, Saqib Khan 2-82)

Islamabad drew with Faisalabad, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium

FAISALABAD 386 all-out, 95.4 overs (Mohammad Awais Zafar 148, Faham ul Haq 109, Jahandad Khan 40, Asim Ali Nasir 27; Hunain Shah 5-84, Mohammad Musa Khan 2-59, Jawad Ali 2-115) and 221-2d (Sardar Hassan Raza 106, Mohammad Awais Zafar 52 not out, Asim Ali Nasir 42)

ISLAMABAD 159 all-out, 52.1 overs (Sarmad Bhatti 57, Abdul Faseeh 20; Khurram Shahzad 5-53, Jahandad Khan 3-27, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 2-43) and 429-8 (Shamyl Hussain 131, Hunain Shah 66, Rohail Nazir 65, Mohammad Arsal Sheikh 62 not out, Abdul Faseeh 57; Afaq Ahmed Afridi 3-96, Khurram Shahzad 2-106)

On Day 3:

FATA beat Bahawalpur by an innings and 86 runs, Imran Khan Cricket Stadium

FATA (overnight 271-5, 92.2 overs) 396 all-out, 127.5 overs (Mohammad Salman 114, Khushdil Shah 95, Rehan Afridi 88, Mohammad Sarwar 43, Asif Afridi 26; Gulfam Aziz 2-43, Imran Randhawa 2-49, Mohammad Umair 2-91, Mohammad Junaid 2-138)

BAHAWALPUR 146 all-out, 55.1 overs (Mohammad Akram 40, Mohammad Imran Randhawa 31, Mohammad Umair 22; Hayatullah 6-71, Khushdil Shah 2-12) and 164 all-out (Mohammad Umair 32, Mohammad Imran Randhawa 28, Mohammad Sudais 27; Sirajuddin 3-21, Hayatullah 3-65, Khushdil Shah 2-5, Asif Afridi 2-34)

Peshawar beat Lahore by 85 runs, Diamond Cricket Ground

PESHAWAR 245 all-out, 76.1 overs (Israrullah 83, Iftikhar Ahmed 42, Abbas Ali 32, Mohammad Mohsin 24; Noman Ali 4-78, Qasim Akram 3-42, Mohammad Rameez 3-30) and 237 all-out (Israrullah 76, Mohammad Haris 45, Abbas Ali 29; Noman Ali 5-112, Mohammad Abbas 4-33)

LAHORE 230 all-out, 73 overs (Qasim Akram 82, Ali Zaryab 57, Obaid Shah 20; Sajid Khan 5-82, Mohammad Irfan 3-53, Mohammad Amir Khan 2-39) and 167 all-out (Mohammad Abdullah 52, Ali Zaryab 43; Sajid Khan 5-60, Mohammad Irfan 3-52, Razaullah 2-8)

Sialkot beat Multan by 204 runs, Marghzar Cricket Ground

SIALKOT 288 all-out, 76.3 overs (Azan Awais 83, Mohammad Huraira 60, Mohsin Riaz 44; Ali Usman 5-98, Ghulam Haider 3-94) and 241 all-out (Hasan Ali 91, Mohammad Huraira 29, Afzal Manzoor 25, Mehran Mumtaz 21; Ali Usman 5-98, Ghulam Haider 3-58)

MULTAN (overnight 63-2, 13 overs) 139 all-out, 33.4 overs (Imran Butt 31, Zeeshan Ashraf 22, Waqar Hussain 21; Usama Mir 5-28, Mehran Mumtaz 5-48) and 186 all-out (Zain Abbas 43, Sharoon Siraj 30, Waqar Hussain 24, Imran Butt 23, Ali Usman 23; Hamza Nazar 5-64, Mehran Mumtaz 4-70)