Sind win Pentangular Cup after tough battle

Sind 513 (Manzoor 144, Rauf 6-143) and 236 for 6 (Anjum 72) beat Baluchistan 299 (Haider 81) and 449 (Abbas 90) by four wickets
Scorecard

Sind's batsmen came through in the end, but it was a harder-fought victory than it seemed it would be after the first innings. Sind had amassed a 214-run lead, but after having knocked of that deficit on the third day, Baluchistan proceeded to build a lead on Friday, and ended up setting Sind a challenging total of 236 to win.

That target started to look increasingly large, as Sind lost three early wickets. Khurram Manzoor, centurion from the first innings, was out in the first over of the second, edging one to the wicketkeeper off seamer Abdur Rauf. Rauf had picked up six wickets in the first innings, albeit for 143 runs, and his form continued as he took two more wickets to leave Sind 56 for 3.

At the other end, Aqeel Anjum seemed to be in a hurry to finish the match on the fourth day itself, and his belligerence kept the run-rate above six runs an over. Anjum finally found support in Hasan Raza, and the two built a 93-run partnership. That seemed to seal the game for Sind, but Baluchistan were given a sniff when Anjum was bowled by left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar for 72 off 55 deliveries.

However, Sarfraz Ahmed made sure Sind kept their foot on the gas. He scored his 48 off 49 balls and took Sind home with four wickets to spare. Rauf finished with ten wickets for the match, but the first-innings lead proved too much for Baluchistan to overhaul in the end.

They had put up a real fight, though. After resuming on 301 for 5 on Friday, Rizwan Haider, the man who had rescued them with his 81 in the first innings, went on to get a half-century in the second as well. His 62 and wicketkeeper Gulraiz Sadaf's 48 helped push Baluchistan's score to 449. It was not enough in the end though.