Habib Bank tighten grip after setting 444 target

WAPDA 278 and 83 for 2 (Butt 38*) need 361 more to beat HBL 236 and 485/1d (Imam-ul-Haq, 200, Zaman 170, Shehzad 104*)
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) were on the verge of a stunning come-from-behind win in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy after conceding a first-innings lead against Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) at the National Stadium in Karachi.

HBL, who recovered from 21 for 6 in the first innings to post 236, made WAPDA toil for 122.5 overs in the second innings. Their top three made centuries in the team's 485 for 1 declared. Imam-ul-Haq, nephew of Inzamam-ul-Haq, top scored with 200 not out, while Fakhar Zaman and Ahmed Shehzad made 170 and 104 not out respectively.

Set an improbable target of 444, WAPDA ended the penultimate day on 83 for 2, with Salman Butt (38) and Mohammad Saad (20) at the crease. Usman Khan, the left-arm seamer, picked up both wickets to fall.

Having eclipsed Asadullah Butt and Mujahit Jamshed's 16-year record for the highest opening stand (252) for HBL, Imam and Zaman, who resumed on 264 for 0, added 39 more before Zulfiqar Babar broke through. Ahmed Shehzad, returning to the first-class format after a stint with Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League, then made a mark, hitting five fours in his 137-ball 104 before Abdur Rehman declared.

WAPDA will need Butt, their captain to come good with support from the middle order if they are to win the tournament, having taken the first-innings honours.