Southern Punjab win Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Second XI tournament

Lahore:Khyber Pakhtunkhwa fought gallantly on the fourth and final day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy 2nd XI tournament but had to be content with a draw as Southern Punjab won the final on the basis of securing a first innings lead at the State Bank Stadium, Karachi on Friday.

Chasing 484 runs for victory, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa were 379 for seven in their second innings when stumps were drawn for the final time in the match. They had resumed their second innings at the overnight score of 11 for no loss.

Opener Mohammad Mohsin scored 123 off 163 balls with the help of 11 fours and two sixes to lead his side’s charge towards the target.

Left-handed middle-order batsman Khushdil Shah scored 51 off 45 balls (one four, three sixes) while top-order batsman Musaddiq contributed 50 off 82 balls.

However, the task of scoring 474 additional runs on the final day proved to be beyond the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa batsman as they lost wickets at regular intervals and had to eventually settle for a draw.

Veteran left-arm-spinner Zulfiqar Babar took three wickets for 90 runs after registering figures of five for 56 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s first innings.

Scores in brief:

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa v Southern Punjab, State Bank Stadium, Karachi

Southern Punjab 369-5, 83 overs (Tayyab Tahir 107 not out, Mukhtar Ahmed 103, Anas Mustafa 61, Mohammad Umair 45 not out; Asif Afridi 2-87) and 333 all out, 113 overs (Mohammad Umair 113, Tayyab Tahir 106, Maqbool Ahmed 35; Asif Afridi 4-85, Irfanullah Shah 3-72)

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 219 all out, 50.4 overs (Musaddiq Ahmed 59, Khushdil Shah 48, Mohammad Mohsin 39; Zulfiqar Babar 5-56, Ataullah 3-58) and 379 for 7, 78 overs (Mohammad Mohsin 123, Khushdil Shah 51, Musaddiq Ahmed 50; Zulfiqar Babar 3-90)

Result: Match drawn; Southern Punjab win the tournament on first innings lead