PIA defeat Karachi Harbour inside two days

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) made short work of Karachi Harbour, through a convincing nine-wicket victory, with over two days to spare in their Pentangular Cup match at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

PIA had gained a first innings lead of 77 in the opening day, after having made 172 in their first innings following Karachi Harbour's crash to 95 all out. PIA's Fazl-e-Akbar ran through the latter's second innings with figures of five for 23 in 13 overs as Karachi were bowled out for 151 in their second innings. PIA needed just 75 runs to win and they attained the target with the loss of one wicket.

Fazl-e-Akbar was ably supported by fellow pacemen Najaf Shah and Jannisar Khan, who picked up two wickets each while Kamran Sajid, the medium pacer, eliminated teenaged left-hander Fawad Alam (24), who had started to look dangerous for a while.

PIA thus made amends for a similar nine-wicket defeat at the hands of Faisalabad in their first-round match at Lahore last week. While PIA will get to rest in the third round of the tournament, Karachi Harbour will be playing against Sialkot in their next match starting at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from Tuesday April 11.

Faisalabad continued to dominate their second-round Pentangular Cup match against national champions Sialkot, as they finished the second day at the Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday, 200 runs ahead in the first innings.

Faisalabad resumed at their overnight score of 354 for 5 and were all out for 408. Sialkot in reply had slumped to 208 for seven by the day's close. They still require another 51 to avert the follow-on.

Shahid Nazir (3 for 60), Asad Ali (3 for 58) and Ahmed Hayat struck crucial blows as none of Sialkot's first six batsmen managed to reach even the 30s. Tahir Mughal, the captain, crossed the barrier and was unbeaten on 37 at stumps, having batted for a little over an hour and a quarter, facing 59 balls and hitting four boundaries.

There were useful contributions by most Sialkot batsmen but none really got going. Earlier, Asim Butt, the fast-medium bowler, hastened the end of Faisalabad's knock by capturing six wickets for 85 runs.

The overnight unbeaten pair of Misbah-ul-Haq and Mohammad Salman took their sixth-wicket partnership to 138 runs, after which the last four wickets added only 14 more. Misbah missed his century by just seven runs, having made his 93 off 160 balls with 11 fours while Salman scored 52.