All-round Imad Wasim helps Islamabad crush Lahore Shalimar

Group II

Imad Wasim's all-round showing, which including twin centuries and a first-innings four-four, helped Islamabad crush Lahore Shalimar by 181 runs. Wasim, Islamabad's captain, batting at No. 6, scored 110 in the first innings, after several of his top got starts but could not kick on. He was the only batsman to get past 38, as Islamabad got to 318, before claiming four lower and middle-order wickets with his left-arm spin to restrict Lahore Shalimar to 190. In the second innings, he scored 110 again, this time finishing unbeaten, leaving Lahore Shalimar an improbable victory target of 376. Their batsmen, once again, just could get partnerships going - their biggest stand and highest score came low down the order, with No. 9 Mohammad Saeed scoring 60. New-ball bowler, Shehzad Azam was the destroyer-in-chief in the second innings, picking up four. This was Islamabad's first win of the tournament, in three games, putting them in the middle of the Group II points table.

Quetta also registered their first win, against Faisalabad, led by new-ball bowler Gohar Faiz who picked up a match haul of nine. Faiz helped Quetta get the first-innings lead, despite being rolled over for 167 in their first innings. He claimed 4 for 57, running through the middle order, as Faisalabad fell to 159 all out. Quetta's batsmen came good in the second innings, Taimur Ali top scoring with 87 and several others contributing cameos to set Faisalabad 331 to win. Faiz came well again, picking up four of the opposition's top five batsmen, and was well supported by left-arm quick Faizullah - who claimed seven in the match - as Quetta secured a 121-run win.

Multan also won comfortably, by eight wickets against Hyderabad, to go to second on the points table. Their win was built around a century from No. 7 Abdul Rehman Muzammil and medium pacer Aamer Yamin. Yamin picked up four first-innings wickets to keep Hyderabad to 227, before Muzammil's 129 - and a 169-run sixth-wicket stand with captain Kashif Naved - helped rescue his team from 58 for 5. They finished with lead of 133, before Yamin ran through the opposition again. Hyderabad managed only 190 the second time round, with none of their batsmen passing 38. That left Multan chasing 58 for the win, and they knocked it off in 16 overs without too much trouble.

Bahawalpur collected three points from their first-innings lead in the drawn match with Lahore Ravi in Lahore and both teams continue to be at the bottom of the table of Group I. Centuries from Lahore Ravi batsmen Ikhlaq Butt and Muntazir Mehdi ensured the draw after they conceded a 93-run deficit in the first innings. Batting again, the hundreds took them to a strong score of 391 to set Bahawalpur a target of 299 but not much time was left by then. On the first day, Lahore Ravi chose to bat and scored 281 on the back of captain Jahangir Mirza's third first-class hundred. Bahawalpur replied with a strong 374, led first by Jawad Hussain and Faisal Mubashir at the top of the order and then by captain Imranullah Aslam, who scored 175 at No. 7. Bilawal Iqbal was the only consolation for Lahore Ravi as he finished with five wickets.

Patient knocks by Awais Zia and Muzammil Nizam helped Rawalpindi to a four-wicket win after they were in a troublesome position at 46 for 5 chasing 186 against Sialkot at Jinnah Stadium. The offspinner Bilal Asif ran through the Rawalpindi top order with four wickets before Zia and Nizam added a crucial 119 for the sixth wicket to put their team on the winning track. Zia finished with 79 off 145 balls while Nizam remained unbeaten on 43 off 155 balls. Sialkot opted to bat first and were bowled out for 247, led by Faisal Khan's 84 and Naved Sarwar's 53. Nasir Malik and Haseeb Azam shared all the ten wickets, with Malik taking 6 for 69 and Malik 4 for 41. Rawalpindi in reply were in a spot of bother at 91 for 5 before they were rescued by fifties from Zia and Zahid Mansoor. Zia made 57 while Mansoor made 70. Sialkot, with a deficit of 29, failed to put up resistance in their second innings, save for Salman Ali who made 68 off 87 balls. Sialkot were bowled out for 214 with a lead of 185. Rawalpindi stuttered but eventually reached the target and retained their position at the top of the table.

Chasing a target of 314, Abbottabad were only able to reach 217 for 4 on the final day as their match with Peshawar ended on a stalemate. Peshawar batted first, and opener Israrullah led the way with a fine 101, with Sajjad Ahmed and Fawad Akbar adding a pair of eighties to help prop their total to 364. Abbottabad did not enjoy as much success in their first effort, with only Kamran Ghulam (50) and Khalilullah (53) showing any significant resistance, as they were dismissed for 254. Peshawar batted even better in their second dig, with Iftikhar Ahmed and Adil Amin combing for 112 for the second wicket. Iftikhar finished on 72, while Amin added 68, as Peshawar declared their innings on 203 for 3, setting Abbottabad a target of 314 to win. After losing opener Waqar Orakzai for a golden duck, both Mohammad Naeem and Mohammad Ali put on a second-wicket stand of 120 to give them hope, but there simply wasn't enough time left to get the desired result. Naeem top-scored with 80, while Ghulam finished not out on 56.