Big wins put PIA, WAPDA in lead
A round-up of the action from the fourth day of the ninth round of matches in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy Division One 2011-12
ESPNcricinfo staff
03-Dec-2011
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) registered a nine-wicket win against Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited (ZTBL) at the Gaddafi Stadium, to move into joint-top position with WAPDA on the points table. PIA bowled out ZTBL for 223, after they resumed on 116 for 3. The bowlers all chipped in, but Ali Imran was the pick with 4 for 57. That left PIA a paltry target of 12, which they knocked off in 4.2 overs. Anop Santosh was out for a duck, but Sheharyar Ghani sealed the win with two boundaries. ZTBL are not far behind PIA and WAPDA on the table - they are just three points behind, slotting in at No. 3.
Sialkot held on for a close win against Islamabad at the Diamond Club Ground in Islamabad. The hosts had needed 130 runs to win on the final day, with eight wickets in hand. They fell six runs short, despite a hundred from their opener Afaq Raheem. Sialkot's fast-bowling trio of Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Abbas and Prince Abbas did all the damage. While Imran finished with the best figures of the innings, 4 for 87, Mohammad Abbas took his match haul to 10 with three second-innings' scalps. Apart from Raheem, none of batsmen who played on the final day managed to get past 30. The win was only Sialkot's second in nine games.
The National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) v Habib Bank Limited (HBL) match at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad finished in a draw. On the final day, NBP went from 181 for 3 to 484 for 6. The highlight of the day was Kamran Akmal's century, while Qaiser Abbas and Hammad Azam put on an unbroken 76-run stand for the seventh wicket, as the match ended without the third innings of the game being completed. HBL took three points from the game, for taking the first-innings' lead. Both teams are placed in the middle of the points table.
