Southern Punjab v Sindh ends in a draw

Karachi:Abdul Rehman Muzammil stroked his way to a century as the four-day ninth round first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match between Southern Punjab and Sindh ended in a draw at the National Stadium on Thursday.

Muzammil scored an undefeated 103 runs which came off 209 balls with fourteen fours and two sixes.

As soon as the right-hander reached his hundred, the umpires called stumps with no result in sight as Southern Punjab were 236 for five in 75.4 overs.

He added 138 runs for the fourth-wicket with Sohaib Maqsood (76 off 107).

When Southern Punjab started their second innings this morning, all-rounder Anwar Ali, who had taken five for 75 in the first innings, dismissed Sami Aslam (four) and Zeeshan Ashraf (three).

Muzammil and Sohaib then played freely and smartly rotating the strike to wear down the bowlers on a flat track.

Sohaib in particular didn’t hold back his shots as he used his feet regularly against spinners, dispatching them for boundaries.

He struck 11 fours and three sixes in his 107-ball 76 before getting out to Fawad Alam.

After Tea, Southern Punjab lost Adnan Akmal for one run when he was bowled by Tabish Khan.

The drawn match saw five centuries from both teams with Fawad Alam scoring 211 and Sarfaraz 131 for Sindh while Zeeshan Ashraf, Adnan Akmal and Muzammil were the century-makers for Southern.

Fourth-ranked Southern Punjab play table-toppers Central Punjab at the State Bank Stadium in Karachi.

Sindh and Balochistan – ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, and out of contention for the final – take on each other at the National Stadium.

Scores in brief:

Southern Punjab 517-9d, 133.3 overs (Zeeshan Ashraf 133, Adnan Akmal 107 not out, Sohaib Maqsood 81, Abdul Rehman Muzammil 49, Bilawal Bhatti 45, Umaid Asif 37; Anwar Ali 5-75, Hassan Khan 2-110) and 236-5, 75.4 overs (Abdul Rehman Muzammil 103, Sohaib Maqsood 76, Umar Siddiq 35; Anwar Ali 2-28)

Sindh 486 all-out, 132 overs (Fawad Alam 211, Sarfaraz Ahmed 131, Saad Ali 60, Anwar Ali 28; Bilawal Bhatti 4-82, Zia ul Haq 3-105, Mohammad Irfan 2-129)

Result: Match drawn