All-round Siddiqi sinks Wolves
A round-up of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Silver League matches that ended on November 20, 2015
ESPNcricinfo staff
20-Nov-2014
Group II
Zahir Siddiqi finished with a match haul of eight wickets, and also scored a fighting fifty down the order in the first innings to power Bahawalpur Stags' six-wicket victory against Faisalabad Wolves at the Iqbal Stadium.
Wolves, opting to bat, were bundled out for 76. Their last seven batsmen managed just nine runs all together, as Siddiqi collected 6 for 36 to dismiss the team in 31.2 overs. Stags, however, did not fare much better in their first essay and were struggling at 98 for 7 before Siddiqi once again came through for his team, striking eight fours and a six during a 75-ball 62 to lift the score to 198.
Facing a deficit of 122, Wolves once again failed to really produce a significant total, as none of their batsmen were able to convert their starts into a much-needed fifty. Imranullah Aslam shone with 4 for 55, while Siddiqi and Ansar Javed both chipped in with two scalps to bowl Wolves out for 154, meaning Stags had to hunt down just 33 for victory.
The team lost four wickets during the chase, eventually reached the target in 12 overs.
Fast bowler Waqas Ahmed's seven-for in the second innings helped Sialkot Stallions beat Abbottabad Falcons by six wickets. Having been inserted, Falcons were all out for 229 in the first innings, as Waqas took 4 for 82 to wreck the team's middle order. Stallions, however, couldn't translate their advantage into a first-innings lead. Their captain Faisal Khan top-scored with 53 and Salman Cheema hit 44, but nobody else stayed long enough to string together a big partnership, as four wickets apiece from Aziz-ur-Rehman and Ikramullah Khan meant that Stallions were bowled out for 208 inside 67 overs.
Falcons had a slender 21-run lead, but could not make it count, as Waqas picked up 7 for 37 to run through the team for 91 in 36.5 overs. This meant that Stallions needed only 113 for the win - a total they chased down in 22.2 overs thanks to a 45 from Bilal Hussain.
Group I
A 10-wicket match haul from the seamer Najaf Shah, and centuries from Sheharyar Ghani and Shoaib Khan set up Pakistan International Airlines' huge win against Pakistan Television in Sialkot. PTV, after being put in, were shot out for 133 in 42 overs, as Najaf took 6 for 31, while Ali Imran chipped in with 3 for 57.
PIA were precariously placed at 154 for 5 in their reply, but Ghani and Shoaib put up an unbroken stand of 244, batting together for nearly four hours. Ghani struck 17 fours and a six during his unbeaten 152, while Shoaib's 114 included 16 fours, as PIA declared at 468 for 6.
Facing a deficit of 335 runs, PTV opener Raheel Majeed resisted by scoring 174, but apart from him and Rehan Afridi (53), no other batsman was able to contribute more than 27. Najaf once again led the attack with 4 for 58, as PTV were all out for 317, ensuring that PIA won by an innings and 18 runs.