Sindh and KRL salvage draws
A round-up of the final day's play of the first-round matches in the Pentangular Cup
31-Mar-2007
Forced to follow-on by Punjab, Sindh escaped with a hard-fought draw on the final day's play at the National Stadium
in Karachi. From their overnight 118 for 3, Sindh finished on 335 for 7 thanks to captain Faisal Iqbal's 81 and Tahir Khan's 67.
Punjab showed good discipline in their bowling department, grabbing ten wickets in the third day's play, but failed to get into Sindh's batting when it really mattered. Tahir extended his overnight partnership with Khalid Latif (42) to 57, before he and Faisal combined for a 105-run fifth-wicket stand. Punjab hit back with two wickets, but Sarfraz Ahmed, the wicketkeeper, hit an unbeaten 33 to guide Sindh to safety.
Allrounder Bilal Khilji had the best bowling figures of 2 for 56 from 22 overs.
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A strong second-innings batting display helped Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) too manage a draw with Habib Bank Limited (HBL) on the final day at the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) Sports Complex Stadium in Karachi. Opener Azhar Ali hit an unbeaten 115, his maiden first-class hundred, Saeed Bin Nasir made 75, and Mohammad Wasim, the captain and former international, remained not out on 68 as KRL ended on 282 for 2.
Imran Farhat's 157 had taken HBL to 393 the day before, but KRL's top order also cashed in with good runs. From an overnight 55 for 1, Azhar and Nasir took the score to 131 before Sajid Shah, the opening bowler, removed Nasir for his second wicket. Azhar and Wasim steadied the ship to safety with a 151-run association.