Raees double puts NWFP in control

Sind 288 for 7 (Manzoor 59, Rizwan 40*, Tanvir 3-72) trail Federal Areas 322 (Saeed 136) by 34 runs
Scorecard

A last-wicket stand of 61 between Usman Saeed and Shoaib Akhtar pushed Federal Areas to 322 in Karachi, but at the end of the second day Sind were in with a good chance of taking the first-innings lead. Rizwan Ahmed, the legspinning allrounder, was unbeaten on 40 as the hosts finished at 288 for 7, trailing by 34.

Saeed had led the a fightback on the first day, and he frustrated Sind, adding 33 to his overnight score of 103. Shoaib was last man out for 18; the fast bowler, though, bowled only nine overs to the Sind batsmen out of the 78 they faced in the day. Shoaib's only wicket was opener Khalid Latif, who fell for 31 after adding 60 with Khurram Manzoor.

Manzoor, the Pakistan Academy captain on their unbeaten tour of Kenya and Zimbabwe, scored 59 off 132 deliveries. The rest of the batsmen failed to build on starts as well: Naumanullah scored 15, Faisal Iqbal 32, Fawad Alam 34 and captain Shahid Afridi hit a quick 21-ball 17. At 211 for 6, there was a chance Sind would fold up quickly but wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed hit five fours in a 33-ball 36 and Rizwan pushed to 40 to tick the score along. Sarfraz fell with the score on 262, but Anwar Ali and Rizwan remained unbeaten till stumps.

For Federal Areas, Sohail Tanvir was the most successful, with 3 for 72 off his 20 overs. Iftikhar Anjum took 2 for 59 off 19, while Umar Amin got the wicket of Manzoor in his six, which cost 30 runs.

Baluchistan 66 for 3 trail NWFP 550 for 5 dec (Raees 205, Shoaib Khan snr 81*) by 484 runs
Scorecard

The run-fest continued for North West Frontier Province and they took three Baluchistan wickets to take firm control of the game in Quetta. Adnan Raees scored his first first-class double-century, and Shoaib Khan snr made an unbeaten 81 before NWFP declared at a commanding 550 for 5.

Resuming on 293 for 2, NWFP did not lose a wicket till Riaz Kail fell for 29 - an innings that needed 77 deliveries. Raees and Shoaib added 107 for the fifth wicket. Raees was stumped by Saeed Anwar jnr after he completed his double. Umar Gul promoted himself to push the scoring; he hit two sixes in his 14-ball 21 before he was caught behind off Anwar. Shoaib, whose 81 came at a strike-rate of nearly 56 despite only six fours, pushed them to 550, with Aftab Alam making 32.

Gul bowled Shoaib Khan jnr with the score on 28, and left-arm fast bowler Junaid Khan removed Usman Tariq. Legspinner Yasir Shah removed Anwar. At 66 for 3, Baluchistan's hopes will largely rest on captain Misbah-ul-Haq.