Gallant Nauman stands tall as NBP struggle

Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) gained slight edge over National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) after picking up two wickets late in the day in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy quarterfinal here at National Stadium on Wednesday.

KRL had the bankers battling at 190 for seven at close of play on a seesaw second day of the four-day encounter despite a gritty unbeaten 60 by Naumanullah.

Earlier, Mohammad Ramzan carried his bat for an unbeaten 110 as KRL, resuming at 244 fir seven, mustered another 23 runs before losing all three remaining wickets to lanky fast bowler Shabbir Ahmed, who finished with excellent figures of five for 93 in 28.4 overs.

Without, Nauman's gallant contribution, NBP would have already conceded the all-important first innings lead. They still trail by 77 runs with just three wickets standing.

NBP had themselves to blame for the predicament they are in now as most of their batsmen failed to encounter the five-pronged KRL pace attack, barring of course Nauman who batted with great composure throughout his 163-ball innings in a stay of 235 minutes.

To some extent, Kamran Akmal, the Test wicket-keeper, promised much but for the second match in a row he perished just one short of 50. Going for an extravagant drive, he only succeeded in hitting straight to Intikhab Alam, who held a brilliant low catch in the covers.

Until Kamran joined Nauman, NBP were heading towards being followed with the first five wickets crashing for 67 runs, including that of the disappointing Imran Nazir.

Batting down the order, the discarded Test opener never looked at ease. His impetuosity got the better of him when he attempted an unwise pull and was caught behind for 21.

The sixth-wicket partnership between the vigilant Nauman, who has so far stroked seven boundaries, and the audacious Kamran produced 91 crucial runs in exactly 100 minutes. Kamran's 71-ball 49 was laced with seven hits to the fence.

NBP suffered a body blow minutes before stumps when Imran Javed thrashed at a Yasir Arafat delivery but only found Saeed Anwar Junior plucking off a splendid catch at point.

Scoreboard

KRL (1st Innings, overnight 244-7):

Ali Naqvi c Kamran b Zahid 1

Mohammad Ramzan not out 110

Saeed Anwar Jr c I. Javed b Zahid

Saeed bin Nasir b Shabbir 23

Misbah-ul-Haq lbw b M. Javed 23

Intikhab Alam c Kamran b Shabbir 6

Yasir Arafat lbw b I. Javed 16

Naeem Akhtar c I. Javed b M. Javed 22

Zulfiqar Jan lbw b Shabbir 24

Jaffar Nazir c Shahid b Shabbir 10

Mohammad Asif b Shabbir 0

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-6, NB-24) 32

TOTAL (all out, 92.4 overs) 267

FALL OF WKTS: 1-5, 2-25, 3-91, 4-132, 5-149, 6-170, 7-207, 8-252, 9-264.

BOWLING: Shabbir Ahmed 28.4-8-93-5 (8nb); Zahid Saeed 30-5-67-2 (6nb); Mohammad Javed 22-5-60-2 (7nb); Imran Javed 8-0-33-1 (3nb); Hanif-ur-Rehman 1-0-2-0; Shahid Anwar 3-2-4-0.

NATIONAL BANK (1st Innings):

Salman Butt c Zulfiqar b Ali Naqvi 13

Hanif-ur-Rehman c Misbah b Asif 6

Shahid Anwar lbw b Asif 10

Naumanullah not out 60

Sajid Ali c Yasir b Ali Naqvi 4

Imran Nazir c Zulfiqar b Yasir 21

Kamran Akmal c Intikhab b Asif 49

Imran Javed c Saeed Jr b Yasir 10

Mohammad Javed not out 4

EXTRAS (LB-8, W-1, NB-4) 13

TOTAL (for seven wkts, 71 overs) 190

FALL OF WKTS: 1-10, 2-31, 3-31, 4-46, 5-67, 6-158, 7-185.

TO BAT: Shabbir Ahmed, Zahid Saeed.

BOWLING (to-date): Jaffar Nazir 11-2-28-0 (1nb); Mohammad Asif 24-9-44-3 (1nb); Yasir Arafat 8-0-37-2 (2nb), 1w); Ali Naqvi 20-8-38-2; Naeem Akhtar 8-2-35-0