Central Punjab salvage draw in Abbottabad

Karachi: Central Punjab comfortably negotiated 50 overs in their second innings to ensure a draw against Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on the fourth and final day of the four day Quaid-e-Azam Trophy round four, first-class match at the Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Set a 319-run target, Central Punjab reached 129 for one in 50 overs when match was declared a draw at the start of the final hour of play.  

Captain Azhar Ali (13) was the only batsman to fall in Central Punjab’s second innings, opener Salman Butt remained unbeaten on 63 while Mohammad Saad scored 40 not out. The two added 97 runs in their unbroken second wicket alliance.

Salman who made-up for his first innings failure (zero), hit eight fours in his 177-minute stay, he faced a total of 157 balls. Saad hit four fours, he faced 121 balls.

Imran Khan senior was the only successful bowler for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Imran accounted for Azhar.

Earlier, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa declared their second innings at lunch, the hosts were 112 for three at that stage. They lost Israrullah for 26 and Khushdil Shah for 24 in the first session of the day, pace bowler Ehsan Adil took both wickets.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had scored 484 for five declared in their first innings, Central Punjab were bowled out for 278 runs in reply to concede a 206-run deficit, however, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa did not enforce the follow-on.

Scores in brief:

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 484 for 5 declared, 133 overs (Ashfaq Ahmed 173, Mohammad Rizwan 128, Adil Amin 58 not out, Israrullah 43; Naseem Shah 2-85, Zafar Gohar 1-85) and 112 for 3 declared in 35 overs (Israrullah 26, Ashfaq Ahmed 20 not out; Ehsan Adil 2-36)

Central Punjab 278 all out 78.1 overs ( Kamran Akmal 136, Azhar Ali 24; Sameen Gul 4-57, Imran Khan senior 2-72) and 129 for 1 in 50 overs (Salman Butt 63 not out, Mohammad Saad 40 not out; Imran Khan senior 1-19)