Under-19s (Grade-II) : Sheikhupura and Kohat reach the Final

Qaisar Abbas, the left-arm leg spinner and skipper of Sheikhupura, returned extraordinary figures of 14 wickets for 81 runs as his side beat Quetta by a comprehensive margin to reach the final of the Pepsi Junior Under-19 (Grade-II) competition which will be played at the Jinnah Stadium Sialkot from the 5th of this month.

The three day fixture at the Montgomery Ground Sahiwal also saw some good performances from youngsters like Nadeem Karamat and Javed Hussain from Sheikhupuraboth making fifties to help their side reach a total of 245 on the first day on a turning track after being put into bat by the rival captain Manzoor Ahmed.

Quetta's reply was not a commendable one as all their batsmen struggled against some accurate bowling from the leg-spinner Qaisar Abbas. Only Zeeshan Ali (39*) and Rashad Yousaf (33) could show some resistance as their side was seen tumbling out for a meager 125. Qaisar Abbas took 6 wickets for 41 runs.

Sheikhupura, in their second innings, could get to a total of just 170, thanks to some tidy bowling from the off-spinner Adnan Ashraf and left-arm leg spinner Rashad Yousaf. They took 4 for 61 and 3 for 53, respectively. However, an aggregate lead of 291 runs on the last day off a spinning track with the likes of Qaisar there to exploit the conditions, seemed too good a target for a shaky Quetta side.

The Quetta team had a poor start yet again, losing their first five wickets for just 40 runs on the board. Zeeshan Ali (28) again showed some resistance but it was just a matter of time as Qaisar Abbas ripped through Quetta's middle and late order to return splendid figures of 8/40. Quetta were all out for 103, thus, conceding the match by a huge margin of 188 runs.

The second semi-final saw yet another left-arm leg spinner, Rehmat Khan, of Kohat making the most of the conditions at the Saga Cricket Ground Sialkot, to help his side through to the final against Sheikhupura to be played in the same city but at a different venue.

Put into bat by the opposition, Kohat posted a formidable 324 in their first innings mainly due to the high-class batting performances by Ijaz Ibrahim (86) and Abdul Wahab (85). Imran Khan and Muhammad Farooq also batted well for their 47 and 31, respectively.

Despite some good batting display by Rana Bilal (87), Zeeshan Ali (48), and Ahmed Rasheed Sial (32), Multan could only get 208 in their 1st innings as six of their batsmen were out without reaching the double figure. Rehmat Shah (4/28) and the fast medium Haris Bilal Arfidi (4/91) were the main destroyers of Multan's batting line up.

Helped by a first innings advantage of 116 runs, the Kohat batsmen had not much pressure on their shoulders to cope with when they came out to bat in their second innings. Yet some good bowling from Farhan Abbasi (5/62) and Ghulam Mustafa Shahzad (4/52), both right-arm medium pacers, restricted Kohat to 240. Tahir Khan (76), Ijaz Ibrahim (45), and Muhammad Farooq (31) were the main run-getters for their side.

Requiring 357 to win on the last day, Multan saw their side crumble under severe pressure after a confident start saw them reach 100 for 1 at one stage. However, with the introduction of the dangerous Rehmat Shah into the attack, wickets began falling like nine pins as the remaining Multan batsmen could add only 110 to their total. Muhammad Ali Niazi (62) was the highest scorer for his side. He was helped in his efforts by Ahmad Rasheed Sial (32) and Yasir Arafat (37). Rehmat Shah was again lethal in his leg spins taking seven wickets for just 31 runs to return the match figures of 11/59. Kohat won the match by 146 runs.

The four-day final starting from the 5th of October promises to be a close encounter as both Qaisar Abbas and Rehmat Shah will be dearly hoping to repeat the performances that enabled their sides to win the semi-finals in quite comprehensive manners.