Shan Masood anchors Southern Punjab with flawless century

Lahore :Skipper Shan Masood produced a workmanlike innings of 118 to anchor Southern Punjab to 303 for 5 against Sindh on day one of the four-day first class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match at the UBL Sports Complex on Saturday.

Invited to bat first by Sindh captain Asad Shafiq, the left-handed Test opener played flawlessly and with precision for 306 minutes and faced 205 balls before he was finally dismissed in the last session. Shan fell to off-spinner, Waleed Ahmed after having hit 13 fours and two sixes.

He also shared a solid third wicket partnership of 134 runs with Sohaib Maqsood (57 from 111 balls) as the two came together with their team on 58 for two.

The other opener, Sami Aslam had looked set for a big innings when he hit two fours and a six in his 21 runs but was bowled by Waleed who toiled tirelessly for 29 overs in the hot and humid weather conditions. Soon after Aslam fell, pacer Tabish Khan also bowled Umar Siddique for one run to cause some concern in the visitors’ dressing room.

Shan than took charge with Sohaib as both of them first played with caution to take their team to 99 without further loss. The duo opened up against the experienced Sindh pace attack in the second session as the total mounted rapidly.

Shan completed his century in the session but soon after Sohaib was trapped leg before by Tabish leave the visitors on 195 for 3 at the tea break.

Southern Punjab also lost the wicket of Imran Rafique for 39 runs who fell to Sohail Khan as Sindh took the second new ball a short while before close, following Shan’s dismissal.

Wicketkeeper-batsman, Adnan Akmal 39 not out and all-rounder, Aamir Yamin 16 not out than put on an undefeated 42 runs for the sixth wicket before stumps were called after 90 overs.

Waleed and Tabish were the most successful bowlers for Sindh with two wickets apiece as the bowlers had to toil hard for little rewards.

Scores in brief:

Southern Punjab 303-5, 90 overs (Shan Masood 118. Sohaib Maqsood 57, Adnan Akmal 39 not out, Imran Rafiq 33; Tabish Khan 2-52, Waleed Ahmed 2-120)