Daily Times

KARACHI: Valiant centuries by debutant Mubasir Khan and Hammad Azam helped Northern remain on the second spot in the six-team points table as their eighth round first-class Quaid-e-Azam Trophy fixture against Sindh ended in a draw at the National Stadium. Mubasir, playing his maiden first-class match after a fantastic run with Northern U19 and Northern Second XI sides, smashed a magnificent 164. Over the course of his 241-ball knock, the 18-year-old right-handed batsman crunched 24 boundaries in front of the broadcast cameras, which telecasted live action in Pakistan and beamed stream
across the globe through PCB’s YouTube channel.

He was duly supported by Hammad from the other end who smashed a 226-ball 145. This was the all-rounder’s second century in the season and following this knock, Hammad is now positioned second in the list of the batsmen with most runs with 787 runs at 65.58. Northern had a 185-run second innings deficit with six wickets in hand when play resumed on Thursday, the fourth and final morning of the match, with Hammad Azam and 18-year-old Mubasir at the crease on 25 and one, respectively. Following a gutsy 294-run alliance between two Northern finished at 423 for six in 120 overs at the close of play.

Pacer Shahnawaz Dhani dismissed both Mubasir and Hammad. Sindh racked up 14 points from the match and jumped a place to the fifth spot. In the next round, which will run from 20-23 December, they play third-ranked Southern Punjab at the State Bank Stadium. Northern, who pocketed seven points, will play Balochistan, who slipped to the bottom of the points table following a nine-wicket defeat to Central Punjab. The National Stadium will host a broadcast fixture between table-toppers Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and fourth-placed Central Punjab.

Scores in brief

At National Stadium, Match drawn between Sindh and Northern

Northern 203 all out, 68.2 overs (Mohammad Nawaz 79, Jamal Anwar 51, Mubasir Khan 26; Azizullah 3-48, Shahnawaz Dhani 3-49, Mir Hamza 3-52) and 423-6, 120 overs (Mubasir Khan 164, Hammad Azam 145, Faizan Riaz 31, Sarmad Bhatti 24 not out; Shahnawaz Dhani 3-93) VS Sindh 514-8 dec, 143.1 overs (Sharjeel Khan 133, Asad Shafiq 117 not out, Saud Shakeel 81, Saad Ali 44, Saad Khan 41, Shehzar Mohammad 28, Mir Hamza 20; Mohammad Nawaz 5-108)

Match points: Northern 7 (five draw, one batting, one bowling), Sindh 14 (five draw, four batting, five bowling).