Lahore Ravi crush Quetta for first win

Quetta were pushed to the bottom of the table after sinking to a ten-wicket defeat to Lahore Ravi in a basement battle at the Lahore City Cricket Association ground. The match had been evenly balanced after two days, and Quetta started the third day well, removing Lahore's final two wickets in three overs, keeping the deficit to 48. Their batsmen flopped though, slumping to 108 all out, with only Ata-ur-Rehman making more than 25. Lahore's new-ball bowlers, Junaid Zia and Waqas Ahmed, shared seven wickets to roll over Quetta in 30 overs. Lahore's openers then knocked off the 61 needed for victory in less than 15 overs to confirm their first win of the season.

In another battle between struggling teams, Peshawar were struggling to stave off defeat against Islamabad at the National Ground. Set a tall target of 393 with more than 140 overs to play, Peshawar were hanging on at 249 for 7 at stumps. Opener Israrullah top scored with a hurricane 82, with a huge 66 of those runs coming in boundaries. Several of his team-mates, adopting a more measured approach, got off to starts but none went on make even a half-century. Peshawar's hopes of surviving are now pinned on No. 6 Azam Jan, who is unbeaten on 40.

At the Jinnah Stadium, Sialkot's batsmen made amends for their first-innings failure by piling on 493 for 9 against Rawalpindi. Mohammad Ayub batted all through the day to remain unbeaten on 179, the highest score of his career. It was a hard slog for the Rawalpindi bowlers as he strung together several large partnerships: 103 for the fifth wicket with Ayaz Tasawwar, 108 with Nayyer Abbas (65) for the sixth before ending the day with an unbroken 69-run stand with Bilawal Bhatti (41 off 24) for the ninth. His effort has pushed Sialkot's lead to 385, virtually eliminating chances of a defeat.

Multan took control of their match at the Gymkhana Ground by reducing Abbottabad to 156 for 8. The Multan tail wagged in the morning, with the final three wickets adding 68 runs, during which Mohammad Hafeez completed his century. That cut the first-innings deficit to 25 runs, after which Abbottabad's Ghulam Mohammad (45) and Ehteshamuddin (39) guided their side to a relatively safe 135 for 3. A stunning collapse followed, four wickets going down for one run to put Multan on top.

Table-topping Karachi Blues' match against Faisalabad at the National Stadium witnessed a day of batting domination. No. 9 Tanvir Ahmed made the bulk of the runs for Karachi, smashing a 94-ball 88, to push Karachi to 401 from an overnight 293 for 8. The bowlers continued to have a hard time when Faisalabad batted; half-centuries to Ammar Mahmood and Zeeshan Asif taking the reply to a patient 188 for 4 by stumps.

Having gained first-innings points the previous day, the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) bowlers, led by left-arm spinner Abdur Rehman, did well to restrict Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) to 230 for 8 at the Diamond Club Cricket Ground. Beginning on 248 for 9, the HBL batsmen lasted just nine balls, as Asad Ali finished with 7 for 98. Naeemuddin and Ali Waqas hit half-centuries as the SNGPL top order aimed for a bright start during the reply. But Abdur dented the middle and lower orders to leave them tottering at stumps, ahead by 226.

Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) were in danger of losing their match against Karachi Whites at the National Bank of Pakistan Sports Complex, despite gaining first-innings points. From their overnight score of 196 for 4, Karachi were boosted to 310 all out, courtesy Mohammad Hasan's watchful 88. Having set WAPDA a target of 259, the Karachi fast bowling duo of Malik Aftab and Tabish Khan shared five wickets between them to damage the top order. At 152 for 6, WAPDA's hopes rest heavily on wicketkeeper Ahmed Said, who is unbeaten on 48.

Well-compiled hundreds by Imran Javed and captain Naumanullah steered National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) to first-innings points against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) in Rawalpindi. Resuming on 174 for 3, both overnight batsmen went about overhauling KRL's first-innings total of 353 in confident fashion. While Imran hit 18 fours and a six during his 321-ball 176, Naumanullah managed 12 boundaries during his 110 off 236 balls. The 263-run stand for the fourth wicket was enough for NBP as they finished on 398 all out. KRL left-arm spinner Nauman Ali had the consolation of a five-for.

Lahore Shalimar's woes at the bottom of the table continued as they conceded first-innings points to Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) at the Gaddafi Stadium. All the SSGC bowlers chipped in with useful contributions - most notably right-arm seamer Bilal Asad with 3 for 45 - as they bowled out Lahore for 307, 115 short of SSGC's first-innings total. At stumps, SSGC were 90 for 2 with opener Asif Zakir (42) and Imran Abbas (25) at the crease.

Kashif Daud's 6 for 47 put Zarai Tarqiati Bank Limted (ZTBL) in pole position against Pakistan Customs at the Marghzar Cricket Ground. Customs' resistance from 143 for 6 was over in 15 overs as they folded for 183, with right-arm fast bowler Daud adding three more to his overnight tally. Looking to build on their lead of 146, the ZTBL batsmen weighed in with good starts as they declared on 183 for 8. Chasing the target of 330, Customs lost wicketkeeper-captain Hanif Malik, trapped leg before by, who else, but Daud.