LAHORE: Fast bowler Saqib Khan took six for 62 as Karachi defeated Multan by seven wickets with a day to spare in the second round of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy at the Marghzar Cricket Stadium in Islamabad on Tuesday.

Saqib, who had earlier taken two for 51 in Multan’s first-innings total of 260 and contributed a useful 54 with the bat in Karachi’s 433, returned impressive figures of 17.4-2-62-6 as Multan were bowled out for 272 after resuming on 12 without loss.

He received good support from Mohammad Asghar, who took two for 82.

For Multan, Sharoon Siraj top-scored with 96 off 148 balls, hitting 13 fours and a six, while Waqar Hussain made 52, Arafat Minhas 42, and Muhammad Shahzad 34.

Chasing 100 for victory, Karachi cruised home in 16.3 overs, with Mirza Saad Baig following up his 154 in the first innings with an unbeaten 65 off 56 balls, including 11 fours and a six.

BAHAWALPUR V ISLAMABAD

A magnificent unbeaten double-century by Saad Khan guided Bahawalpur to a strong reply against Islamabad as the match headed toward a draw at the Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium.

At stumps, Bahawalpur were 463 for six in response to Islamabad’s 541 for six declared.

Saad, who resumed on 38, was batting on 204 — an innings spanning 441 minutes and 280 balls, featuring 25 fours and a six. He shared a 142-run fifth-wicket stand with Mubasir Khan (72) and an unfinished 106-run seventh-wicket partnership with Imran Randhawa (51 not out).

For Islamabad, Kaleem Dil and Jawad Ali claimed three and two wickets respectively.

LAHORE V ABBOTTABAD

Ali Zaryab Asif fell one short of a double-century as Lahore tightened their grip on Abbottabad at the Diamond Cricket Ground.

Resuming on 106 in Lahore’s overnight total of 232 for two, Ali was bowled by Shahnawaz Dahani (two for 85) for 199 — a patient knock spanning 464 minutes and 335 balls, laced with 23 fours and a six. His effort helped Lahore post a commanding 500 in reply to Abbottabad’s 365.

Abbottabad’s Khalid Usman was the most successful bowler, returning five for 172.

Trailing by 135 on the first innings, Abbottabad reached 35 for two at stumps, facing an uphill battle to save the match.

SIALKOT V FAISALABAD

No. 9 batter Mehran Mumtaz struck a superb 125 to lift Sialkot to 416 in reply to Faisalabad’s 255 at the Imran Khan Cricket Stadium in Peshawar.

Mehran added 162 runs with the last three batters, including a 124-run ninth-wicket partnership with Muhammad Ali (18). His 156-ball innings included 18 fours and two sixes before he was the last man out.

Sialkot had resumed at 189 for five and secured a 161-run first-innings lead.

At stumps, Faisalabad were 38 for two, with Faham ul Haq (20) and Atiq ur Rehman (4) at the crease.

PESHAWAR V FATA

The Peshawar–FATA encounter remained delicately poised at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium. Set a target of 255, FATA ended the day at 51 for two, needing another 204 runs on the final day.

Earlier, Peshawar, who had taken a 40-run first-innings lead, resumed their second innings at 59 for one and were bowled out for 295. Iftikhar Ahmed followed up his first-innings 78 with 75, while wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris scored 59 and Israr Ullah added 51 after making 91 earlier.

For Peshawar, wrist-spinner Zahid Mehmood starred with figures of 24-1-85-6, while Akif Javed picked up two for 48.

Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (second round, day 3 of 4):

Scores in brief:

Peshawar vs FATA, Abbottabad Cricket Stadium

PESHAWAR 271 all-out, 63 overs (Israr Ullah 91, Iftikhar Ahmed 78, Niaz Khan 47; Zahid Mehmood 2-20, Sameen Gul 2-69, Shahid Aziz 2-70, Akif Javed 2-70) and 295 all-out (Iftikhar Ahmed 75, Mohammad Haris 59, Israr Ullah 51, Nabi Gul 38; Zahid Mehmood 6-85, Akif Javed 2-48)

FATA 311 all-out, 68.2 overs (Muhammad Farooq 90, Rehan Afridi 41, Mohammad Waseem Khan 41, Mohammad Sarwar 32, Khushdil Shah 26, Mohammad Naseem Junior 25, Mohammad Salman Khan 21; Iftikhar Ahmed 3-19, Abuzar 3-95, Muhammad Amir Khan 2-56) and 51-2 (Muhammad Salman Khan 20 not out; Muhammad Amir Khan 2-20)

Sialkot vs Faisalabad, Imran Khan Cricket Stadium

FAISALABAD 255 all-out, 89.5 overs (Atiq ur Rehman 81, Faham ul Haq 51, Awais Zafar 42 not out; Mohammad Ali 5-47, Athar Mehmood 3-74) and 38-2

SIALKOT 416 all-out, 121.5 overs (Mehran Mumtaz 125, Hammad Butt 72, Azan Awais 65, Muhammad Hurraira 34, Afzal Manzoor 25, Aashar Mehmood 22, Ayaz Tasawar 22; Shahid Ali 3-115, Sardar Hassan Raza 2-42, Mudassir Zunair 2-80)

Karachi beat Multan by seven wickets, Marghzar Cricket Stadium

MULTAN 260 all-out, 70.5 overs (Arafat Minhas 77, Waqar Hussain 50, Bismillah Khan 41; Danish Aziz 2-4, Ramiz Aziz 2-13, Saqib Khan 2-51, Muhammad Umar 2-63) and 272, 65.4 overs (Sharoon Siraj 96, Waqar Hussain 52, Arafat Minhas 42, Muhammad Shahzad 34; Saqib Khan 6-62, Mohammad Asghar 2-82)

KARACHI 433 all-out, 89.1 overs (Mirza Saad Baig 154, Omair Bin Yousuf 137, Saqib Khan 54, Ramiz Aziz 46; Faisal Akram 5-113, Kashif Ali 2-54, Arafat Minhas 2-85) and 100-3 (Mirza Saad Baig 65 not out)

Abbottabad vs Lahore, Diamond Cricket Ground

ABBOTTABAD 365 all-out, 109.2 overs (Khalid Usman 78, Shahzaib Khan 73, Yasir Khan 56, Fakhar Zaman 53, Ahmed Khan 30, Israr Hussain 29; Mohammad Ramiz 6-144, Saad Nasim 3-23) and 35-2

LAHORE 500, 126.1 overs (Ali Zaryab Asif 199, Hussain Talat 77, Tayyab Tahir 48, Abid Ali 41, Saad Nasim 36, Mohammad Salman 25, Junaid Ali 20; Khalid Usman 5-172, Shahnawaz Dahani 2-85, Israr Husain 2-86)

Bahawalpur vs Islamabad, Shoaib Akhtar Cricket Stadium

ISLAMABAD 541-6 dec., 137.3 overs (Hammad Khan 172, Sarmad Bhatti 144, Rizwan Ali 101, Raja Hamza Waheed 60, Shamyl Hussain 28; Gulfam Aziz 2-88, Muhammad Azab 2-91)

BAHAWALPUR 463-6, 126 overs (Saad Khan 204 not out, Mubasir Khan 72, Muhammad Alamgeer 58, Muhammad Faizan Zafar 39, Muhammad Ammar 26; Kaleem Dil 3-74, Jawad Ali 2-128)