LAHORE: Peshawar defeated Multan by 189 runs and Lahore beat Bahawalpur by five wickets in the penultimate round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy on Wednesday. Peshawar’s win means they have joined Faisalabad in third place on 132 points and kept their final hopes alive, while Lahore have climbed to sixth and moved out of the relegation zone.

In the ninth and final round, Peshawar will take on a struggling, seventh-placed Islamabad, while sixth-placed Lahore will meet fifth-placed FATA — both mid-table sides with no chance of reaching the final and no danger of relegation.

When the ninth-round matches begin Sunday, defending champions Sialkot, Karachi, Peshawar and Faisalabad will contest the two available spots in the final. Meanwhile, Islamabad, Bahawalpur, Multan and Abbottabad will fight to finish eighth or higher to avoid relegation.

SAJID BOWLS PESHAWAR TO VICTORY

Test off-spinner Sajid Khan returned figures of 15.4-0-39-6 as Multan, chasing 282 for victory and resuming the morning at two for one, were bowled out for 92. Sajid had taken 4 for 29 in the first innings and finished with match figures of 10 for 68.

Sajid received support from Mohammad Irfan, who took three for 10. Imran Butt top-scored for Multan with 39.

Bahawalpur’s Ali Usman had an outstanding match, taking 10 for 121 and scoring 22 not out in the first innings, but still ended up on the losing side — a reminder of how cruel cricket can be.

HUSSAIN TALAT BATS LAHORE TO VICTORY

Hussain Talat scored an unbeaten 49 to guide Lahore to a five-wicket win over Bahawalpur. Hussain resumed on three as Lahore began the day on 58 for four while chasing a 136-run target.

With Tayyab Tahir, who made 32, Hussain added 60 valuable runs for the fifth wicket after Lahore had slipped to 39 for four.

SCORES IN BRIEF (EIGHTH ROUND, DAY 3 OF 4):

Peshawar beat Multan by 189 runs, Imran Khan Cricket Stadium

PESHAWAR 239 all-out, 57.4 overs (Abbas Ali 116, Sajid Khan 60; Ali Usman 5-79, Mohammad Ismail 2-49, Kashif Ali 2-50) and 167 all-out (Waqar Ahmed 45, Mohammad Amir Barki 24, Abbas Ali 24; Ali Usman 5-42, Ghulam Haider 3-38)

MULTAN 125 all-out, 44 overs (Bismillah Khan 40, Zeeshan Ashraf 32, Ali Usman 22 not out; Sajid Khan 4-29, Razaullah 2-22, Niaz Khan 2-31) and 92 all-out (Imran Butt 39; Sajid Khan 6-39, Mohammad Irfan 3-10)

Lahore beat Bahawalpur by five wickets, Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium

BAHAWALPUR 140 all-out, 49.1 overs (Saad Khan 37, Mohammad Imran Randhawa 21, Rana Mohammad Burhan 21; Noman Ali 4-51, Aamir Jamal 3-26, Mohammad Abbas 2-18) and 176 all-out (Mohammad Imran 44, Mohammad Ammar 40, Saifullah Bangash 35; Mohammad Abbas 3-8, Aamir Jamal 3-27, Haseeb-ur-Rehman 2-44, Noman Ali 2-54)

LAHORE 181 all-out, 43.2 overs (Hussain Talat 58, Ali Zaryab Asif 39, Noman Ali 22; Mohammad Junaid 3-25, Mohammad Umair 2-34, Mohammad Younus 2-52, Mohammad Imran Randhawa 2-36) and 136-5 (Hussain Talat 49 not out, Tayyab Tahir 32; Mohammad Umair 4-46)

On Tuesday:

Sialkot beat FATA by seven wickets, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium

FATA 110 all-out, 33.5 overs (Khushdil Shah 37, Rehan Afridi 20; Usama Mir 4-11, Hamza Nazar 2-14, Mohammad Ali 2-16) and 226 all-out (Salman Khan Jnr 52, Mohammad Farooq 34, Refan Afridi 30, Khushdil Shah 30, Mohammad Usman 23; Usama Mir 5-56, Hamza Nazar 3-44, Mehran Mumtaz 2-48)

SIALKOT 186 all-out, 50.4 overs (Mohsin Riaz 33, Azan Awais 29, Mohammad Huraira 28, Ayaz Tasawar 27, Asif Afridi 5-48, Hayatullah 3-69) and 151-3 (Abdullah Shafique 95 not out, Azan Awais 37; Asif Afridi 2-39)

Karachi beat Islamabad by an innings and 104 runs, Diamond Cricket Ground

ISLAMABAD 161 all-out, 37.2 overs (Shamyl Hussain 85, Hasan Nawaz 31; Kashif Bhatti 5-61, Mohammad Asghar 4-34) and 103 all-out (Hasan Nawaz 35, Kashif Bhatti 3-15, Saqib Khan 3-21, Mohammad Umar 2-15)

KARACHI 368 all-out, 71.5 overs (Saud Shakeel 130, Abdullah Fazal 73, Saad Baig 46, Kashif Bhatti 40; Hasan Nawaz 3-58, Shayan Sheikh 3-98, Jawad Ali 2-73, Arsal Sheikh 2-77)

Faisalabad beat Abbottabad by 178 runs, Marghzar Cricket Ground

FAISALABAD 121, 31.3 overs (Faham-ul-Haq 21; Khalid Usman 7-42, Kamran Ghulam 2-31) and 279 all-out (Mohammad Awais Zafar 83, Ali Asfand 65, Raees Ahmed 47 not out, Faham-ul-Haq 45; Khalid Usman 5-92, Mehrooz Rasheed 2-48, Mansoor Ali 2-79)

ABBOTTABAD 123 all-out, 39.3 overs (Shahzaib Khan 53, Ahmed Khan 31; Ali Asfand 5-31, Sardar Hasan Raza 3-36) and 99 all-out (Shahzaib Khan 39, Shahab Khan 23 not out; Hasan Raza 4-40, Ali Asfand 3-7, Ahmed Safi Abdullah 3-41)